Logo image
Back
The Roles of Vaccination and Amantadine Prophylaxis in Controlling an Outbreak of Influenza A (H3N2) in a Nursing Home
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The Roles of Vaccination and Amantadine Prophylaxis in Controlling an Outbreak of Influenza A (H3N2) in a Nursing Home

Nancy H Arden, Peter A Patriarca, Mary Beth Fasano, Kung-Jong Lui, Maurice W Harmon, Alan P Kendal and David Rimland
Archives of internal medicine (1960), Vol.148(4), pp.865-868
04/01/1988
DOI: 10.1001/archinte.1988.00380040105016
PMID: 3355306

View Online

Abstract

• An outbreak caused by influenza A/Philippines/2/82 (H3N2)—like viruses occurred in a partially vaccinated nursing home population in January 1985. During the first six days of the outbreak, 14 (25%) of 55 residents developed influenzalike illness. The risk of illness was most strongly associated with undetectable levels of antibody against the epidemic strain, with unvaccinated case-patients having more severe illnesses and a higher rate of hospitalization than vaccinated case-patients (5/8 vs 0/6). During the period of amantadine hydrochloride prophylaxis (100 mg/d) from days 7 to 35, only two (5%) of the remaining 41 residents became ill, even though 11 (27%) had no detectable antibody. Serum amantadine levels obtained on day 35 ranged from 117 to 737 ng/mL (mean 309 ng/mL), similar to therapeutic levels documented in younger adults who have taken the standard regimen of 200 mg/d; there were few clinically significant side effects. These findings illustrate the benefits of influenza vaccination and support the use of amantadine hydrochloride at a dosage of 100 mg daily for outbreak control among elderly persons.(Arch Intern Med 1988;148:865-868)

Details

Metrics

15 Record Views
88 Times Cited - Web of Science
Logo image