Baloxavir, an antiviral drug, may be effective in preventing influenza's spread among household contacts of infected patients, according to a study published July 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers in Japan conducted a randomized trial during the 2018-19 flu season to evaluate the endonuclease inhibitor's effectiveness in preventing influenza contraction. Over 10 days, 374 household contacts of influenza patients were given baloxavir and 375 were given a placebo.
Two percent of participants who received baloxavir contracted the flu, compared to 14 percent of those who received a placebo.
"The positive findings with baloxavir prophylaxis in reducing the spread of influenza virus within households suggest the need for studying its prophylactic efficacy in other nonhousehold settings," the study's researchers wrote.
In an editorial also published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Timothy Uyeki, MD, a flu expert from the CDC, pointed out that 74 percent of the Japanese study's index patients were under 12 years old, but the FDA has not approved baloxavir for use in patients younger than 12.