It’s been more than 20 years since Tamiflu, the first orally active neuraminidase inhibitor to prevent and treat influenza A and B, was rolled out by drugmaker Roche. Not a flu vaccine, Tamiflu (oseltamivir) blocks the flu virus’s neuraminidase protein. The medication is available only by prescription and is often prescribed for people at high risk of flu complications.
As the world navigated bird flu (H5N1) in 2005, followed by swine flu only four years later, fear of pandemics rose rapidly. The World Health Organization (WHO) was even forced to rename swine flu as “H1N1,” as the public feared eating pork, and countries began banning imports from the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere.
