Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, it has had a huge impact on people’s lives.
According to the WHO, over 777 million cases and 7.1 million deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded worldwide since December 2019, the actual number is thought to be higher.
Seasonal flu is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses. Influenza A and B viruses circulate and cause seasonal epidemics of disease.
Annually, about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths from seasonal flu occur worldwide.
In many cases COVID-19 and flu cause similar symptoms, including cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, headache and fatigue. Both COVID-19 and flu spread mainly between people who are in close contact with each other.
It can be hard to diagnose which condition based on symptoms alone. Testing is needed to confirm a diagnosis.
A study in The Lancet evaluated the clinical outcome of co-infections with respiratory viruses and SARS-CoV-2. Through respiratory multi-pathogen testing of 6,965 patients with SARS-CoV-2, it was found that compared with SARS-CoV-2 monoinfection, co-infection with influenaza viruses was associated with a 4.14-fold increased odds of receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (95% CI: 2.00-8.49) and a 2.35-fold increased odds of In-hospital mortality (95% CI: 1.07-5.12).
A meta-analysis showed that the risks of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation support, and mortality in patients co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus were 2.13 times (95% CI: 1.15-3.94), 5.02 times (95% CI: 2.38-10.59), and 4.84 times (95% CI: 2.21-10.61) higher than those in patients with influenza monoinfection.
It is possible to be sick with COVID-19 and flu at the same time. Testing is needed to confirm a diagnosis.
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Reference
1. https://www.who.int/
2. https://www.cdc.gov/
3. Swets, Maaike C et al. SARS-CoV-2 co-infection with influenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus, or adenoviruses. The Lancet, Volume 399, Issue 10334, 1463 - 1464.
4. Yan Xiaolong,Zhang Mei,Ding Yusong,Jing Mingxia,Li Ke . Impact of influenza virus co-infection on prognosis of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a meta-analysis[J]. Chinese Journal of Public Health,2023,39(12):1563-1571.
