Delta, Kappa, Omicron… Since the start of the global pandemic, our vocabulary has been reinvented every day. Latest example: “Flurona”, denoting a double infection with Covid-19 and influenza. Behind this barbaric term hides a multitude of questions: is it a new disease? What risks? Here is what we know at the moment.
A merger between the Covid-19 and the flu?
Contrary to popular belief, Flurona is not a new disease, nor an umpteenth variant. In truth, it means a co-infection: two viruses responsible for two distinct diseases affect a single person at the same time. For the moment, nothing proves the existence of a “hybrid” virus which would combine the two diseases. The term first appeared in December 2021 in Israel, following an unvaccinated pregnant woman was admitted to hospital for contracting both Covid-19 and the flu. Thus, the neologism is the result of the English translation of these two viruses: “flu” being the diminutive of “influenza”, therefore influenza, and “rona” comes from “coronavirus”. Note that this word is not at all official, since it was invented by Internet users!
While the name is fresh, double infection is nothing new. The World Health Organization recalled in September 2021 that it is ” possible to catch both diseases at the same time. “Adding that the most effective way to prevent hospitalization and severe forms of Covid-19 and influenza is the vaccination with both vaccines.
Influenza and Covid-19: two similar but distinct diseases
It’s easy to confuse influenza with Covid-19. This is because the two viruses have certain similarities. First of all, these are two respiratory diseases. In addition, they are spread in similar ways via droplets and aerosols emitted by an infected person when they cough, sneeze, speak or breathe. Therefore, the same protective measures are effective in limiting the spread of both viruses. To avoid their dissemination, it is therefore necessary to apply the gestures that we now know by heart: social distancing, hand washing frequent, regular ventilation and isolation if contamination is suspected.
However, despite their similarities, these two diseases remain quite distinct. Thus, the WHO emphasizes that the treatments for Covid-19 and influenza are different. Moreover, these two diseases each require their own vaccine. The Covid-19 vaccine does not protect once morest the flu, and vice versa !
Flurona: riskier than the Covid-19?
Flurona is not to be taken lightly. Indeed, the virologist Bruno Lina explained to our colleagues of Release that a ” increased mortality has been reported in people infected with both viruses, compared to those who had only had Covid-19 or the flu “.According to the Times of Israel, the pregnant woman with Flurona and at the origin of the democratization of the term is doing better. She was released from the hospital. Still, Israel’s health ministry announces it is launching a study to see if the combination of the two viruses increases potential risks. Case to follow.
What are the risks for pregnant women and children?
With current information, it is difficult to establish whether co-infection is particularly risky in pregnant women or young children. On the other hand, we know that the elderly, people of all ages with chronic diseases as well as people with an immunodeficiency (such as VIH/ AIDS, cancer or patients treated with chemotherapy or steroids) are more likely to contract severe forms of Covid-19 or influenza, and therefore Flurona.
