Usage of Antivirals and the Occurrence of Antiviral Resistance in Norway 2011-2012

The development of new drugs to treat viral infections has sped up in recent decades, and many of these are directed against HIV. The trend is that more patients can be offered more effective and tailored treatment. However, this depends on the virus not developing drug resistance. Just like bacteria, viruses can become resistant and RAVN was established to monitor resistance to antiviral drugs used in Norway. The report shows that resistance occurs in varying degrees to the different drugs.

The RAVN report for 2011-2012 reviews general information about the surveillance system and virus resistance in this period. For HIV and influenza resistance, the report includes surveillance data from 2005 to 2012. The report also reviews methods for resistance studies and includes statistics from the Norwegian Prescription Database regarding antiviral medicines.

RAVN consists of the RAVN centre in the Department of Virology at the NIPH and the RAVN advisory council that work together to plan and monitor viral resistance in collaboration with participating regional laboratories.