Teddy Wardell 10/29/18
Bio C Odd Current Event 6
Cunningham, Aimee. “What the Approval of the New Flu Drug Xofluza Means for You.” Science
News, 26 Oct. 2018,
www.sciencenews.org/article/what-approval-new-flu-drug-xofluza-means-you.
In the article, “What the approval of the new flu drug Xofluza means for you” by Aimee Cunningham, she explains how a new drug called Xofluza can treat the Flu. This new drug which is currently only available for use in Japan will be a new alternative for the current drug in place, Tamiflu. These two drugs are very unique and use a different kind of way to kill influenza. This drug is still not the best way to kill influenza but can relieve the symptoms in a very short period of time. The way the drug works is by blocking parts of the influenza virus that are responsible for creating proteins that are required to produce more of the virus within a host cell. However, the drugs relieve the flu to the same degree. It only takes two days for the drug to start taking away flu symptoms and is a single-dose treatment. In a clinical trial, about 1,000 adults and adolescents tried Xofluza and experience fewer flu symptoms such as fever, aches, and coughs in only one to one and a half days. This drug is only approved to be used two days after experiencing symptoms but is most effective when used within 24 hours of having the flu. This drug helps mostly people above the age of 65 who are more likely to have complications due to influenza.
This article is very important to our current society for many reasons. One reason that it is relevant is that it shows how Xofluza will be very helpful in the near future. The article describes how a new flu virus that is resistant to Xofluza may emerge. In the article Frederick Hayden, a clinical virologist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville states, “So clearly we do need alternative treatments” (Cunningham 1). This proves that this drug may be more helpful in the future than it currently is and will help prevent some new flu-like diseases. In addition to this, Xofluza will be used worldwide very soon which means that the next time a person gets a flu shot, they could be using this drug instead of Tamiflu. This way of taking the drug is much easier than Tamiflu and reacts much quicker. Many scientists are excited for this drug to get approved for worldwide use and see what it can do. Finally, this drug will help many people above the age of 65. This is drug is important because it can help the elderly who have influenza prevent asthma or chronic lung diseases.
Overall, I thought this article was written well for the most part and went very into depth about what Xofluza is. The reader gains a lot from the article when it gives quotes that other doctors have said about a certain topic. For example, when infectious disease physician Andrew Pavia of the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City says, “Prevention is better than treatment in all things and that’s absolutely true for flu. So the first message is: Get your flu shot,” it adds a lot to the article and makes the reader feel as if they are having a conversation with the author. Another aspect of the article that I really enjoy is when the author adds specific details in the article. When Aimee Cunningham was writing this article she always used specific examples to add more detail to the article. There are some parts in this article that I didn’t enjoy. First, I would have added a paragraph about when the drug will finally be released. This would help round out the article and give it an ending. On the topic of it not having an ending, the article is missing a conclusion. These two problems can be fixed by adding a few more paragraphs to the end of the article. Overall, I thought that this article was very interesting and insightful.
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