Medical Animation News

An influenza epidemic is no laughing matter, and for years scientists have emphasized that the overuse of antivirals may lead to one. To illustrate how flu viruses can become resistant to prescription medications, an epidemiologist from Weill Cornell Medical College recently made use of a specially designed medical animation.

Dr. Anne Moscona included the clip as part of a review article appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine. The paper warned that a particularly pressing concern is the widespread use of oseltamivir, a popular antiviral medication known by its brand name, Tamiflu.

Oseltamivir is in a class of drugs called neuraminidase inhibitors. According to the National Library of Medicine, the medication is so widely used that its typical dosage has been adjusted to reduce the risk of its overuse.

Basically, oseltamivir works by releasing a compound into the bloodstream that blocks the activity of a receptor on the surface of influenza virids. As depicted in the NEJM mechanism of action animation, this inhibition normally prevents the flu virus from replicating in human host cells.

However, widespread Tamiflu prescriptions have led to a troubling conundrum.

Flu seasons can occasionally be quite severe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that influenza regularly results in tens of thousands of American deaths each year.

For this reason, 39 percent of children and between 25 and 64 percent of adults are inoculated annually for influenza.

While vaccination is relatively side effect-free, antiviral use can come with drastic consequences. As illustrated in the 3D medical animation, a virus strain can become desensitized to oseltamivir through repeated contact.

As the virus naturally mutates, its cell-level receptors can change shape, preventing oseltamivir from being able to bind to it and neutralize the pathogen. Thus, on a nationwide level, doctors are being encouraged to use such antivirals conservatively, as their overuse can negate their effectiveness.

Epidemiologically, this situation is similar to an arms race. As viruses become resistant to certain drugs, humans race to create new medications. These substances are in turn used more heavily, since the old medications are no longer effective. Yet this overuse leads to the viruses becoming resistant to the new drugs as well.

In her medical animation and the study itself, Moscona noted that only the antiviral zanazmivir currently has no known resistant influenza strains.

Amerra provides custom medical animations, medical illustrations and interactive medical software. For additional information please contact us at 1.888.9AMERRA or e-mail info@amerra.com.