Optimizing treatment regimes to hinder antiviral resistance in influenza across time scales.

ABSTRACT: The large-scale use of antivirals during influenza pandemics poses a significant selection pressure for drug-resistant pathogens to emerge and spread in a population. This requires treatment strategies to minimize total infections as well as the emergence of resistance. Here we propose a mathematical model in which individuals infected with wild-type influenza, if treated, can develop de novo resistance and further spread the resistant pathogen. Our main purpose is to explore the impact of two important factors influencing treatment effectiveness: i) the relative transmissibility of the drug-resistant strain to wild-type, and ii) the frequency of de novo resistance. For the endemic scenario, we find a condition between these two parameters that indicates whether treatment regimes will be m

SUBMITTER: Patterson-Lomba O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3612110 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature