Unvaccinated pregnant woman diagnosed with first case of 'flurona' — a double diagnosis of influenza and COVID-19 — but she's only experiencing 'mild symptoms'



Israeli doctors say that a pregnant woman has received a diagnosis of "flurona" — a portmanteau of "influenza" and "coronavirus" — which is a dual influenza and COVID-19 diagnosis.

Authorities believe the diagnosis to be the first confirmed hybrid illness of its kind.

What are the details?

According to a recent report from the Times of Israel, the unnamed woman was confirmed to have both the seasonal flu and COVID-19 at the same time.

The woman, recently a patient at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, is only experiencing mild symptoms despite being unvaccinated and pregnant.

Doctors say that the "flurona" case is relatively mild.

Arnon Vizhnitser, director of the hospital's gynecology department, said that the diseases are the "same disease."

"She was diagnosed with the flu and coronavirus as soon as she arrived," he said. "Both tests came back positive, even after we checked again. They're viral and cause difficulty breathing since both attack the upper respiratory tract."

Officials released the woman from the hospital in good condition on Thursday.

The report noted that the country has seen a flu spike in recent weeks, with nearly 2,000 people hospitalized due to the seasonal illness, and that the Israeli Health Ministry is working to determine whether a combination of the two viral illnesses causes more severe illness in patients with the dual diagnosis.

What else is there to know about this?

Elias Mossialos, a professor of health policy at the London School of Economics, said that there is hardly a reason to worry about the diagnosis.

“It is not a new virus, but simultaneous infections from the coronavirus and the flu virus," he said on social media, according to reports. "It happened to a pregnant woman in Israel, but it is likely we will see several such cases in many countries."

He added, "So, vaccination with the flu vaccine is necessary, especially for our vulnerable compatriots. That’s what health authorities around the world emphasize."

Such co-infections are not unusual, Dr. Edsel Salvana told the Inquirer.

Salvana, member of the Philippines' Department of Health-Technical Advisory Group, said that the dual diagnosis was nothing more than an "unfortunate confluence of events."

“This is actually not unusual. Our very first COVID death in the Philippines back in January 2020, a Chinese national, had both Influenza B and coronavirus and he also had streptococcus pneumonia,” Salvana said during a Monday press briefing, according to the outlet. "So it doesn’t mean it’s a major breakdown, it’s an unfortunate confluence of events. ... But it’s not unusual to see co-infections in these cases."

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Florida toddler dubbed a hero after accidentally saving father's life



A Florida toddler is being credited as a hero after accidentally calling 911 during his father's medical emergency, according to WTSP-TV.

What are the details?

Hernando County, Florida, deputies responded to a 911 hang-up call last week — which turned into a medical intervention.

Deputy Nathan Kent told the station that the child "tried typing the password [on his father's cell phone] and it had 30 attempts that was the wrong password."

"It was probably accidental that he hit the button," he added, and explained that such calls are "very common."

When authorities arrived on the scene, they discovered a naked toddler roaming around the apartment's parking lot.

"Having a kid myself, I was more concerned, 'Hey, why is there an unsupervised kid?' And that's when I started looking around, and I saw the apartment complex door open with a bunch of kid toys."

According to a press release from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, Kent entered the home to find an unconscious man — the child's father — who was unresponsive and without a pulse.

Kent began emergency rescue attempts, and the man began breathing on his own.

"That's when fire rescue walked in and saw everything, so I just thought, 'Let me try to keep the kid calm so this isn't very tragic for him'," he added.

First responders rushed the child's father to a nearby hospital for treatment and observation.

The release noted, "Hospital staff advised the man was having a medical episode but would make a full recovery."

Kent also impressed the importance of teaching children to prepare for such uncertain times.

Kent added, "My biggest thing is teaching your kids what to do in times like this, saying, 'Hey, if something happens, go to a neighbor, get my phone, call somebody.' Try to have some kind of setup just like a fire drill."

Scientists say Nevada man contracted the coronavirus on 2 separate occasions — and the second time was far worse



Scientists say that a 25-year-old Nevada man has contracted COVID-19 twice, on two separate occasions.

What are the details?

According to a Monday report in infectious diseases journal the Lancet, researchers said that the unnamed 25-year-old man contracted coronavirus twice and became seriously ill following his second infection.

The man, a resident of Washoe County, reportedly had no known immunodeficient conditions, nor did he have any underlying problems. Despite those factors, the unnamed man — who has since recovered from both bouts — required hospital treatment following his second infection.

The man first tested positive on April 18, and his symptoms abated on April 27. He subsequently tested negative for coronavirus on two separate occasions on May 9 and May 26. He began exhibiting further symptoms on May 28, and on June 5, he tested positive for coronavirus a second time.

Researchers then sequenced RNA from both of the man's virus samples and concluded that he had been infected with two different strains of the virus.

According to CNBC, "Scientists said the patient caught the coronavirus on two separate occasions, rather than the original infection bouncing back after becoming dormant. This is because a comparison of the genetic codes showed 'significant differences' between each variant associated with each instance of infection."

The study's authors noted, "These findings suggest that the patient was infected by SARS-CoV-2 on two separate occasions by a genetically distinct virus. Thus, previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 might not guarantee total immunity in all cases. ... All individuals, whether previously diagnosed with COVID-19 or not, should take identical precautions to avoid infection with SARS-CoV-2."

The Hill reports that it is the first confirmed case of a U.S. patient becoming reinfected with COVID-19 and the fifth of its kind worldwide.

'It is possible to get reinfected'

Dr. Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, told the outlet that the study means "it is possible to get reinfected."

"It doesn't tell us that protective immunity is impossible," Clarke added. "It is worth remembering that this might be just one of a very small handful of reinfections, it might be very rare, or it might be one of the very first few we are going to see a lot more of given time."

Clarke also pointed out that the research's findings could possibly make generating immunity against COVID-19 "much more difficult."

At the time of this reporting, researchers at Johns Hopkins University estimate that 37,857,361 people around the world have been infected with coronavirus and at least 1,081,695 have died.