‘Flurona’ ?: Peru has already registered cases of flu and COVID-19 coinfection in the first wave in 2020

In recent days there have been reports of parallel infections of influenza (flu) and COVID-19 in Israel and Spain. All this amid the increase in cases due to the variant Omicron of the coronavirus in the world.

This coinfection of respiratory viruses has been baptized as ‘flurona’, a combination of the words ‘flu’ (flu, in English) and ‘corona’ (for the coronavirus). It is important to clarify that and can lead to confusion. Nor does it mean that it is a ‘hybrid virus’ between the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and influenza, according to entities such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and researchers consulted by this Journal.

As various experts have already clarified,. After the confirmation of the first cases in Spain, María del Mar Tomás, a microbiologist at the University Hospital of A Coruña and spokesperson for the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), told Europa Press that it is not a new variant or disease, but two infections that coexist in the same individual.

But, it is not the first time that cases of influenza and covid co-infection have been reported. For example, The Lancet magazine collects the report of cases in the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in May 2020.

In the October 2020 edition of the Journal of the Faculty of Human Medicine of the Ricardo Palma University, a team of Peruvian doctors reported five cases of coinfection of COVID-19 and influenza in patients treated at the Dos de Mayo Hospital, in Lima .

In dialogue with El Comercio, the pulmonologist Antonio Morales-Avalos, one of the authors of the article, explains that the cases recorded in his work were treated during the first wave of COVID-19; at the time (runny nose), but a sore throat and other common coronavirus symptoms.

What made us suspect [de que algunos pacientes tenían una coinfección]? When, in addition to the typical symptoms of covid, they presented rhinorrhea, nasal congestion and pharyngeal pain. We screened them, and that’s how we detected the cases. But we saw that the disease was no worse [en ellos]It was manageable and the vast majority came out without major complications ”, explains the doctor.

Morales, who is part of the Cardiorespiratory Unit of the National Rehabilitation Institute, indicates that when there is a suspicion of a coinfection, l: PCR for SARS-CoV-2 and the respiratory virus panel are performed to detect influenza A or B and other germs. atypical.

Therefore, the study authors recommend “Perform tests to detect other viruses and / or bacteria to all patients with COVID-19″ To arrive at the hospital. In addition, they consider that

That year, the same team of researchers published another case report in the Peruvian Journal of Experimental Medicine and Public Health of the National Institute of Health that reports six cases of coinfection by SARS-CoV-2 and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, causing diseases of the respiratory system, such as atypical pneumonia or tracheobronchitis

It is not a new disease

since the beginning of the pandemic, say the specialists: “Is the same. It is the term they are giving to the coexistence of covid with influenza, which usually occurs in the fall. In our case, we found the influenza A virus, in the stage of May and June 2020 ″, Morales detailed.

As we reported in a previous report, it is now that the country was reintroduced from Brazil. The infectologist Juan Celis, from the Regional Hospital of Loreto, told this newspaper that people “They should not be trusted because both viruses are circulating” at the same time and it is difficult to identify symptomatological differences, “Because these are very few.” Recall that, unlike the first wave coronavirus, new variants such as Delta and Omicron do produce a runny nose.

But, although they share symptoms, they also have differences in some aspects: “Symptoms of COVID-19 and influenza aand they have some differences. Symptoms of COVID-19 generally appear 2 to 14 days after exposure. Flu symptoms usually appear 1 to 4 days after exposure “says Mayo Clinic.

The complications are also different. Unlike the flu, says the institution, COVID-19 can cause “Blood clots and pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome”.

“These are viruses of completely different species that use different receptors to infect, and , WHO epidemiologist Abdi Mahamud said today.

The importance of vaccination

While vaccination against COVID-19 already exceeds 80% of the target population in the country, that of influenza stagnated in 2021: when it is recommended to exceed 85%.

For the specialists consulted by this newspaper, the low coverage of immunization against influenza, its advance through certain regions and the parallel circulation of the coronavirus, will cause more cases of coinfection to appear, which probably will not be detected.

“What we found in our report is that people with risk factors such as those who are obese, hypertensive or diabetic, but we saw that most easily surpassed [ambas infecciones]. For this reason, the recommendation is vaccination against COVID-19, with the three doses, and against influenza, which must be from this year’s updated batch “, Morales advises.