ORLANDO, Fla. – Flu-COVID dual infections, termed as “flurona,” are more likely this year, causing concern among doctors and health experts.
USA Today reported that Texas Children’s Hospital announced this week that tests confirmed a child was infected with influenza A and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The patient was not hospitalized and is recovering at home, the hospital said. No other details were given.
The announcement comes a few days after Israel reported its first confirmed flurona case in an unvaccinated pregnant woman at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, the Times of Israel reports.
[TRENDING: 4th resident of The Villages arrested for allegedly casting multiple ballots | Here are the restaurants opening around Central Florida in 2022 | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Health experts expect to see more flurona as cases of the flu and COVID-19 rise, the latter largely fueled by the omicron surge. Public health officials also expect to see co-infections with other COVID and other diseases.
Texas Children’s Hospital was also the first children’s hospital in the U.S. to report a co-infection of COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, in the summer. The hospital told USA Today that dozens of children with co-infections required hospitalization.
However, since there are vaccines for both influenza and COVID-19, doctors do expect better outcomes for flurona patients as opposed to those with other co-infections, according to USA Today report.