ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It's possible to be infected with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time and now, after Israel reportedly confirmed its first such case, it'll likely be colloquially referred to as "flurona."
At least, that is what's circulating on the internet in recent days.
The country reported the combined flu and COVID infection last week in an unvaccinated pregnant woman who had mild symptoms, according to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, The Times of Israel reports. She was released after her condition improved.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says someone could both have the flu and COVID-19 — they are two separate respiratory illnesses. Thomas Russo, a professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York, told Yahoo! that people can be exposed to both viruses at the same time or around the same time.
The two also "utilize different receptors in your body," Russo said, meaning someone could feel the effects of flu and COVID at the same time.
The case involving the unidentified woman in Israel still is under investigation.
"She was diagnosed with the flu and coronavirus as soon as she arrived. Both tests came back positive, even after we checked again," said professor Arnon Vizhnitser, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist and the director of the hospital's gynecology department, to Yedioth. "The disease is the same disease; they're viral and cause difficulty breathing since both attack the upper respiratory tract."
Vaccines are the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and the flu, the CDC says. Both illnesses share a similar set of symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle pain or body aches, headache, vomiting and diarrhea.
They, too, share a change in or loss of taste or smell, but it's more commonly associated with COVID-19.