According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 36,000 people die and 200,000 are hospitalized because of flu influenza every year in the United States. But the researchers have now announced the latest drug to treat it.

According to latest studies by Doctor Rich Whitley of University of Alabama, Birmingham, a single dose of new antiviral drug Peramivir could be safe and effective in alleviating most flu symptoms, including fever, if taken within 48 hours of contracting the flu. Peramivir is a neuraminidase inhibitor that prevents the emergence of new viruses from cells that are infected. It's made by BioCryst Pharma.

Whitley's conducted the study on 427 adults who had flu symptoms. Single IM injection of 300 mg of Peramivir along with placebo was administered within 48 hours of the appearance of symptoms in acute uncomplicated influenza.

Researchers analyzed the data obtained from phase 2 and phase 3 placebo-controlled clinical trials and found that the drug was able to alleviate the flu symptoms if given within 48 hours of the appearance of the symptoms. It was found that Peramivir, when compared to placebo, was capable of reducing the median time for flu symptoms by 22 hours and reduce fever within 24 hours.

The drug is in clinical trials and has not yet been approved by the FDA. But doctors are hopeful it can be a powerful weapon against the flu.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, said, "The drug would be a terrific boon, a wonderful addition that we could have for the amelioration of influenza and its complications; it would give us the opportunity to initiate treatment very, very early. That is one of the hang-ups that we currently have".

Peramivir has been approved in Japan and Korea way back in 2010. An estimated 1 million Japanese people have been treated with the drug. In the US, around 2,700 patients have received the drug in 27 clinical trials.