Antiviral Drugs for the Prevention or Treatment of Zoonotic Influenza

Key Messages

What Is the Issue?

• Zoonotic influenza may result in severe illness and death in individuals infected by sick animals. These influenza A viruses also pose a pandemic risk due to their adaptability and humans’ lack of existing immunity to them.
• Antivirals, such as baloxavir marboxil, oseltamivir, peramivir, and zanamivir, may be used before or after exposure to infected animals to prevent symptomatic illness, or after infection to treat zoonotic influenza in humans. However, the effectiveness and safety of antivirals for zoonotic influenza is unknown.

What Did We Do?

• We conducted a rapid review to identify and summarize evidence on the clinical efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of antivirals used for the prevention or treatment of zoonotic influenza.
• We searched electronic databases and key online sources for studies published in English from January 1, 2019, to December 9, 2024 (for systematic reviews [SRs] and randomized controlled trials [RCTs]) and to January 8, 2025 (for observational studies). One researcher screened titles and abstracts of citations and 2 researchers reviewed full-text articles to identify studies that met the predefined criteria. We narratively summarized the study findings.

What Did We Find?

• We identified 2 SRs on the efficacy and safety of antivirals for zoonotic influenza. One SR focused on preventing infection after exposure and the other SR focused on treating zoonotic influenza. Neither review identified relevant RCTs examining individuals with zoonotic influenza.
• We did not identify any primary studies relevant to our review.

What Does It Mean?

• There is a lack of evidence on the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of various antivirals for the prevention and treatment of zoonotic influenza; therefore, we were not able to draw any conclusions.