Preventive Administration of Anti-influenza Virus Agent Oseltamivir Phosphate at a Healthcare Center

Fourteen patients in a healthcare center for the elderly (100 beds) at Hokushin General Hospital contracted influenza due to influenza virus A in February 2006. To prevent the spread of the disease, the preventive administration of oseltamivir was conducted for 44 non-infected patients at a daily dose of 1 capsule daily for a period of 1 to 3 days. There were no new cases of influenza during the 1 week period from the start of the administering oseltamivir suggesting that this method of preventing influenza was more successful than influenza vaccination.