Flurona, surely you have heard this term on television, newspapers or word of mouth on the streets or at meals, where COVID-19 continues to have a leading role. Although it may seem like a new disease or a new variant of the coronavirus – we have already lost count with omicron – it is nothing of the kind, but rather it is the name that has been given to the simultaneous infection by COVID-19 and the flu, either the a or the b
The word flurona, so fashionable in recent days, is made up of two words in English: flu, which means flu, and corona, referring to the coronavirus. However, although the way of designating it is new, this coinfection is not, since cases of this double contagion had already been reported since the pandemic began almost two years ago, some of them even in Spain.
All this has been made known by a news item in which the Israeli Ministry of Health erroneously claimed that there had been the first case of co-infection of COVID-19 and the flu in its country. According to her statement, it was a pregnant and unvaccinated woman who tested positive for both viruses and for whom she only had mild symptoms. However, Catalonia and Galicia had already reported similar cases even before.
Is flurone dangerous?
Although it may seem more dangerous to have both viruses in the body, some scientific studies have indicated that the symptoms and treatments administered do not have great differences compared to those who only have one of them. Even so, it is early to draw conclusions and further investigation is needed, but some experts have stated that it is not a cause for great concern and that there is no need to be alarmed or create confusion, since it is neither a new virus nor a new variant.
Flurone is just a new term for co-infection with COVID-19 and the flu, but it shouldn’t be a big concern
For example, in March 2020, a study was published in the Journal of Medical Virology in which cases of co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the influenza A (H1N1) or influenza B virus were reported in five patients. . In May of the same year another investigation came to light in which there were a hundred cases, this time published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
In Spain, in the same month of May, the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona published an article describing four cases of co-infection by COVID-19 and influenza (flu), in which it was concluded that there was no great symptomatological differences between these people and other patients hospitalized only for COVID-19. And the San Carlos Clinical Hospital also published a scientific article in the journal Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology in which a case of co-infection of COVID and influenza A was discussed.
How do I know if I have flurone?
Despite the fact that the scientific evidence so far indicates that there is no reason to worry, there is still little information and it is difficult to know if the person has been infected with both viruses at the same time or if one of them has been the first. On the other hand, there is also the handicap that only those who have symptoms and go to the doctor are diagnosed, and not those who are asymptomatic.
It is practically impossible to determine for yourself if you have fluorone, since the symptoms are very similar in the case of the flu and COVID-19. What can be determined at the clinical level by means of a specific PCR test or with rapid tests that detect SARS-CoV-2 and influenza at the same time.
The influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 are different, although they have similar symptoms, therefore, they can exist and infect at the same time, although this does not imply a special complication per se
Masks and vaccination have been key to reducing mortality from COVID-19, and face masks have also helped other respiratory infections occur less frequently. This is the case of the flu, which disappeared almost completely in the first year of the pandemic, although cases are now occurring due, among other reasons, to the relaxation of prevention measures.
The important thing about all this is to know that there are many co-infections, both bacterial and viral, and that there is no need to be alarmed by it. The influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 are completely different, although they cause similar symptoms, therefore, it is possible that they exist and infect at the same time, although this does not imply a special complication per se.
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