Flurona: Vad vi vet om kombinerad infektion av COVID-19 och influensa

Vad är Flurona?

Flurona is a term coined to describe the condition of being infected with COVID-19 och influensa at the same time. "We call this a 'mixed infection' and it happens with other pathogens as well. I know of several cases reported recently in the US and abroad," says Rodney E. Rohde, a professor of clinical laboratory science and an infectious disease specialist at Texas State University.

"I USA har jag sett det dokumenterat i ett fall i Kansas där patienten befann sig på intensivvårdsavdelningen. Det har också dykt upp hos en man i Mississippi, ett barn i Texas och en tonåring i Kalifornien med mindre allvarliga till milda sjukdomar och symtom."

People have been getting infected with both COVID-19 och influensa simultaneously since the start of the pandemic. From late January to late March 2020, forskare in China found almost 100 cases of patients testing positive for both illnesses in Wuhan. In May 2020, researchers in Barcelona published a paper in The Lancet describing four people who had both illnesses.

With cases of COVID-19 rising rapidly in the UK due to the easily transmissible Omicron variant, there are reportedly more cases of people being infected with both viruses. According to the latest regeringsdata, Northern England is seeing a particular rise in COVID-19 cases. However, according to the den senaste rapporten from the UK Health Security Agency, flu remains at low levels, according to metrics including hospital admissions.

At the start of the pandemic, data collected in England suggested that people infected with both influensa och COVID-19 were more than twice as likely to die as someone with the COVID-19 alone. An analysis by Public Health England of cases from January to April 2020 found that people with the two viruses were more at risk of severe illness. Most cases of co-infection were in older people and more than half of them died.

However, it's important to note that at this time, COVID-19-vacciner were unavailable to the public. Additionally, cases of COVID-19 and flu co-infection appeared to be rare. Of the 19,256 people analysed for the study, 56 people were found to have both illnesses. A separate studie in New York City found that only 36 of 1,200 COVID-19 patients had other respiratory viruses such as those that cause influensa or the förkylning at the same time.

"Jag och de flesta experter tror att det inte är särskilt vanligt. Det finns verkligen inga nationella eller globala data för att sätta en siffra på det just nu," förklarar Rohde.

"There may have been more cases of mixed infections at the beginning of the pandemic for the simple reason that there was more influensa virus in circulation in early 2020. Thankfully, flu infections were at an all-time low last year. We will be following influenza incidence and prevalence closely in 2022 to see if it rebounds to pre-pandemic rates."

With COVID-19 vacciner now widely available, getting infected with both COVID-19 and the flu doesn't necessarily mean you will become more unwell. COVID-19-vaccinationer are providing good protection against severe illness and hospitalisation, particularly if you have a booster as well as your primary course of vaccination. A recent study in the journal Cell found that having a booster achieved "potent" protection against becoming seriously unwell with Omicron.

"Like the Centers for Disease Control and most experts recommend, I believe it is critical to be vaccinated for both of these infections - influensa och COVID-19. En av de svårigheter med dessa två patogener (och många luftvägsagens) är att de kan orsaka många av samma tecken och symtom."

Therefore, it's important to get a COVID-19-test if you have any common cold or flu-like symptoms.

Unvaccinated adults are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 and becoming very unwell from it. People who refuse to have COVID-19 vaccines may also be less likely to have the flu jab too, which can leave them susceptible to both viruses. The best way to protect yourself from both COVID-19 and flu is to be fully vaccinerad against both.

You can get a COVID-19 vaccine if you're aged 16 or over. A booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is available for everyone aged 18 and over. It is also available to some people aged 16 and over who have had two doses of the vaccine at least three months previously.

Barn under the age of 12 who are too young to get vaccinated against COVID-19 may be more likely to contract the virus. Additionally, people who are already vulnerable, such as those with underlying health conditions or the elderly, may become more unwell if they have COVID-19 and flu at the same time.

All children aged 12 to 15 can get a first and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and a third dose is being offered to people aged 12 and over who had a severely weakened immunsystem when they had their first two doses - for example, those who had or have a blodcancer such as leukemi.

The influensa is given free on the NHS to people who are 50 and over, have certain health conditions, are gravid, är i långtidsboende eller är huvudvårdare för en äldre eller funktionshindrad person.

You can also get your flu jab for free if you live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV or is having certain treatments for cancer) or if you are a frontline health or social care worker. If you are not eligible for a free flu vaccine on the NHS, some pharmacies are offering the jab for a fee of around £15 - you can find details of pharmacists offering the vaccine and book an appointment online at Patient Access.