COVID-19: Health experts dismiss existence of 'flurona' amid concerns over new strain

Amid growing concerns over the emergence of new Coronavirus strains, health experts have dismissed the existence of 'flurona,' which is said to be a co-infection of the flu and COVID. Speaking to NBC News, Dr Ellen Foxman, an immunologist at the Yale School of Medicine, stated that contractions like 'flurona" are very misleading as it is not a different thing. "It gives the impression that two viruses have combined into one, which is not the case. Somebody got a co-infection. People get co-infections all the time," she told the American news outlet. 

As per the report, researchers are intrigued by these co-infections. When a person gets infected with two viruses, there are three possible outcomes. According to Dr Guy Boivin, a clinical virologist in Quebec, the interaction could have a minor or no effect. Alternatively, the viruses might attack at the same time, causing more damage than if they were attacked separately. The first case of 'flurona' was reportedly discovered in a pregnant woman admitted to the Rabin Medical Center in Israel's Petah Tikva city. It was detected last year in December, and the woman was not vaccinated, as per Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. 

As per the NBC report, scientists have been aware of viral interference since the 1960s. A group of Soviet researchers had discovered that a live vaccine against polio and other enteroviruses also seemed to protect against unrelated viral respiratory infections like influenza. Further study revealed a number of probable links between viruses, some of which were tested in animals or in the lab, and others which were identified in disease outbreak patterns, the report stated. 

Viral interference ramped up the spread of H1N1 influenza in Europe: Research

Meanwhile, several research organizations believe viral interference ramped up the spread of H1N1 influenza in Europe during the winter of 2009. According to one group, rhinovirus may have delayed the H1N1 pandemic in France by several weeks. According to Dr Foxman's findings, a recent common cold infection caused by rhinoviruses could block the virus that causes COVID-19 from replicating. Most people are unaffected by rhinoviruses, which cause an almost rapid interferon response, she claimed as per NBC News. 

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