The name may sound like a joke, but the World Health Organization says cases of people getting influenza and COVID-19 are very real.
"Fluorona" is when a patient has both the flu and COVID.
According to The Times of Israel, Israel on Thursday confirmed its first case of the so-called Fluorona. The double infection was identified in an uninfected pregnant woman whose symptoms were described by doctors at Billinson Hospital as mild.
“As soon as she arrived, she was diagnosed with flu and coronavirus. The director of the gynecology department of the hospital, Prof. 'Even after re-testing, both tests came back positive,' Arnon Wijnitzer told Hamodia. "The disease is the same disease; they are viral and cause difficulty breathing because both attack the upper respiratory tract."
He was released in good condition on Thursday, according to the Times of Israel, but the health ministry is looking into whether the combination of infections has increased the severity of the disease.
While some reports said it was the first case in the world, according to the WHO, it was the first case in the U.S. and has also been seen throughout Asia.
The WHO told Nextstar's WJW that the frequency of influenza co-infection among COVID-19 positive patients in the US is 0.4%.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the US has registered 55,240,407 cases of COVID-19.
WHO states that co-infection is not uncommon when there is rapid transmission of pathogens in communities, in this example, COVID-19 and the flu.
The WHO reports that Asia has a very high co-infection rate, with 4.5% of COVID positive patients becoming ill with influenza at the same time.
For those who want to maximize their protection against the flu and COVID-19, the CDC says you can get vaccines for both during the same visit.
Experts say past experience shows that vaccines work as intended, with similar side effects, whether given separately or combined.
0 Comments