Flu Killer Was Derived from Anti-HIV Drug

The flu is no joke. This year alone, it is responsible for 10 percent of deaths occurring in the first few weeks of 2018, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported to Fortune. Out of 40,414 deaths during the third week of this year, 4,1064 were from pneumonia or influenza.

That's over 4,000 deaths in a single week! 

Furthermore, a recent study at the University of Maryland School of Public Health showed that people who have the flu produce aerosols full of the virus — little droplets that remain in the air for an extended period of time.

For those living with HIV, whose immune systems are already compromised, airborne particles of the flu virus should be a serious concern. Thankfully, a new experimental flu drug could make all the difference. 

The new compound is said to kill the virus in 24 hours. Developed by The Shionogi & Co., a Japanese-based pharmaceutical company, the medicine is showing a lot of promise but will not be available in the United States until 2019. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, a late-stage trial on American and Japanese flu patients showed that the single-dose Shionogi & Co. compound wiped out the virus in as little as a day. This is important, stresses the company, as it reduces the risk of how contagious it is. 

“The data that we’ve seen looks very promising,” a spokesperson from The World Health Organization said to the Wall Street Journal.

Funny enough, the construct of the compound was developed by researchers who were studying an anti-HIV drug that blocks HIV from hijacking other cells in the body. Lead developer, Takeki Uehara, said, “So we said, ‘Why don’t we build on our HIV knowledge to find a way to treat the flu?’ And we did."