A single dose of the antiviral drug, peramivir, safely and effectively treats adults afflicted with influenza if administered within 48 hours of apparent symptoms, said a recent study by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The experimental drug was authorized for the emergency treatment of certain patients suspected with H1N1 influenza in 2009.

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Peramivir is a neuraminidase inhibitor that prevents the emergence of new viruses from cells that are infected. It's made by BioCryst Pharma.

"Based on clinical data, peramivir is the first neuramindase inhibitor that has shown to be safe and effective as a single-dose therapy for patients with acute, uncomplicated influenza," said Dr. Richard Whitley, professor of pediatrics and director of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at UA Birmingham School of Medicine.

The trial results were revealed at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Whitley and his team did two clinical studies that discovered a single dose of peramivir effectively alleviated symptoms of the disease faster quickly than test participants given shots of placebo.

Influenza symptoms include fever, cough, body aches, headaches, fatigue, congestion and sore throat.

The two clinical trials involved 427 adults who were either administered a single IM injection of 300 mg of peramivir or a shot of placebo within 48 hours of acute influenza symptoms appearing.

What physicians discovered was that the drug was able to reduce flu-like symptoms in 22 hours' time and reduce fever within 24 hours. The drug also had no adverse side effects.

Peramivir was approved in Japan and Korea in 2010, Since then, around one million Japanese have been treated with peramivir,

Dr. Whitley said 27 clinical trials were conducted in the United States. Around 2,700 patients were involved in these trials.