In Israel, a pregnant woman has been admitted to hospital after contracting both Covid-19 and the flu. This co-infection, called “flurona”, worries the health authorities because if this case is rare, it would be neither the first nor the last in the world.
- Covid-19 and the flu are both respiratory illnesses and have certain symptoms in common. These conditions, caused by different viruses, are spread by droplets and aerosols emitted by an infected patient.
- A case of dual infection with influenza and Covid-19 was first reported in Israel on January 2, but it is not the first case worldwide. Other cases of “Flurona” were recorded in the United States in 2020.
- Health authorities fear the increase in cases of “Flurona” and the occurrence of “twinemia”, namely two epidemics at the same time.
“Flurona”, a contraction between “flu” (short for “influenza”, namely flu in English), and “coronavirus”. This is the nickname given by Internet users to qualify a double infection with influenza and Covid-19. A first case of this fusion was reported in Israel. According to an article published on January 2 by the media The Times of Israelan unvaccinated pregnant woman was hospitalized because she had been infected with Covid-19 and the flu at the same time.
The patient, who had mild symptoms of difficulty breathing, was discharged from the facility in good health shortly after being hospitalized. “It is the same disease. Both viruses cause breathing difficulties, as both attack the upper respiratory tract,” told the Israeli media Arnon Vizhnitser, director of the gynecology department who welcomed the mother-to-be.
A rare but not unprecedented case of “Flurona”
This case of double infection is rare but it is not the first in the world. The Times of Israel indicated that in 2020, cases of “Flurona” had been recorded in the United States. “Doctors in several countries have reported patients who tested positive for both Covid-19 and seasonal flu. We’ve seen patients with both viruses. This was early, in March,” can we read in a study published in 2020 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
In a sheet dedicated to the similarities and differences between the coronavirus and the flu, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that it was “possible to catch both diseases at the same time. The most effective way to prevent hospitalization and severe forms of Covid-19 and influenza is vaccination with both vaccines”. The health authority also recommends seriously respecting barrier gestures.
The fear of “twinemia”
The combination of these two infections, which is currently being closely studied, worries Israeli health authorities. The latter fear an increase in double contamination because the two viruses are actively circulating in the country. More specifically, they fear a “twinemia”, the contraction of “twin” (twin in English) and “epidemic”. Clearly, the authorities are afraid of having to manage two simultaneous epidemics which could overwhelm their hospital capacities.
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