Good question! In this section PlusOnline goes in search of answers to nagging questions. This time: can you get an infection in addition to corona? Like flu? Or even a second coronavirus?
The short answer is: yes, you can. Researchers at Stanford University investigated this on nasal mucus samples from 1206 patients in California. All participants had fever or cold symptoms, such as coughing and sneezing. They write about it in American medical journal JAMA.
Two at a time
Of the 1,206 patients, 115 tested positive for the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Of this group, 20% turned out to be infected with a second pathogen. This was usually a rhinovirus, an enterovirus or the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). You can also get respiratory infections from these viruses, just like from coronaviruses. But there were also people who had another type of coronavirus in addition to the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. So two coronaviruses at the same time.
Age did not play a role here, so the elderly do not get a ‘double infection’ more often than young people.
flu and corona
You can also have influenza virus (flu) and coronavirus at the same time, a small Iranian study found research. Does the flu vaccine also help against the coronavirus? View the answer here:
Pharmacist Sonja Keizers explains whether the flu vaccine also helps against corona.
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