"Flurona" - How dangerous is a double corona flu infection?
Created: 01/05/2022, 12:48 PM
From: Martina Lippl
Corona and flu at the same time?
In Israel, a double infection "Flurona" was detected for the first time.
© Yurii Rylchuk / imago
Corona and flu infection at the same time?
The first cases of double infections have already occurred in Israel, Spain and the USA.
This is how experts rate “Flurona”.
Tel Aviv - A pregnant woman in Israel was found to be infected with corona and flu at the same time - the first case of "Flurona".
The unvaccinated patient at Beilinson Hospital near Tel Aviv had been treated for a respiratory infection.
Tests found an infection with influenza type A or B and the coronavirus.
"Flurona": Double infection from flu and corona first detected in Israel
According to the doctors, however, the symptoms in the pregnant woman were said to have been mild.
The woman in her 30s gave birth to her baby last week, a spokeswoman for Beilinson Hospital confirmed on Tuesday.
She was released on Thursday with the baby in good condition.
In Israel, it is the first case of a double infection, according to the health authorities. But reports of patients with flu and Covid-19 appeared in the US as early as spring 2020, reports
The Times of Israel
. "Flurona" cases have also been confirmed in Spain and Brazil. "Flurona" is a non-scientific term first used by the Israeli newspaper
ynet.news.com
. The word “Flurona” is made up of the English “flu” for flu and corona.
Experts expect that more double infections with flu and corona will occur. Israel has seen an increase in influenza cases in the past few weeks. That fuels the fear of a so-called "Twindemic" (in English Twindemic) can
be read in
The Times of Israel
.
The term "twin chemistry" stands for a scenario in which hospitals with a large number of flu cases and Covid-19 patients could be overwhelmed. Last winter, the corona measures prevented most cases of flu. But this year is already different. The health authorities assume, according to the media, that many other people are likely infected with both viruses, but no diagnosis has yet been made.
Double infection from corona and flu for experts "nothing special", but "rare"
It is still unclear how a double infection from corona and flu will affect the body.
The number of cases observed so far is still too low.
The Israelis had a mild course; the patients from the USA are said to have suffered from a fever and a dry cough.
The chairman of the German Society for Infectious Diseases, Bernd Salzberger, considers the occurrence of such double infections to be "nothing special".
"Such cases have to occur at some point," said Salzberger of the dpa news agency.
A double infection is probably a bit worse than an infection with only one pathogen.
Double infections with flu and corona are rare, "because both viruses are rarely present at the same time - by wearing a mask, two winters passed with almost no influenza," said Salzberger.
Professor Arnon Wiznitzer, head of gynecology at Beilinson Hospital in Tel Aviv, said that the patient had been treated with drugs that were effective against corona and the flu at the same time.
Doctors recommend vaccination against influenza and corona
The real flu - influenza - is not to be confused with a cold. Anyone who becomes infected with the flu virus must expect severe symptoms. Doctors recommend flu vaccination for risk groups such as the elderly and pregnant women. You can vaccinate against corona and flu at the same time, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in autumn 2021.
Because of the corona measures, the usual flu wave has so far failed to materialize, analyzes the Barmer health insurance company.
The number of those on sick leave due to influenza has recently increased, but is again at the pre-Corona year 2019 level.
That sounds good.
It is to be hoped that the situation will remain that way.
The flu wave usually starts in autumn.
After the peak in mid-January, the flu season extends into spring.
In this respect, experts believe it makes sense to get vaccinated against influenza now.
In Germany, too, it is about relieving the burden on hospitals.
A prick against the flu can help.
A booster against the new Corona variant also works.
Because, one thing is certain, the Omikron wave will hit Germany.
(ml / dpa)
