Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 11:30 EDT (11:30 AM EDT) CDCHAN-00293-2009-05-27-UPD-N As a reminder to clinicians, this Health Update summarizes existing CDC guidance issued on May 6, 2009 on the use of antiviral drugs in novel H1N1 patients and their close contacts. CDC recommends that influenza antiviral treatment be given to all hospitalized patients with confirmed, probable, or suspected novel influenza A (H1N1) and any patient with confirmed, probable or suspected novel influenza A (H1N1) who is at higher risk for seasonal influenza complications. All hospitalized patients should be carefully monitored and treated with antiviral medications as soon as possible after admission, including patients who seek treatment more than 48 hours after onset of symptoms. The drugs recommended for treatment are either oseltamivir or zanamivir. The novel H1N1 viruses are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine.

Health Alert Network (HAN)