Covid-19 and flu coinfection can double the risk of death

by time news

R. Ibarra

Madrid

Updated:

Keep

The flu can complicate the severity of Covid-19- A study presented in “The Lancet” shows that adults admitted to hospital who have covid-19 and flu at the same time have a much higher risk of serious illness and death compared to patients who only have Covid-19 alone or with other viruses.

Specifically, the study shows that patients who were infected with the flu and SARS-CoV-2 were “4 times more likely to be connected to a ventilator and twice as likely to die,” he tells ABC Salud. Maaike Swetsfrom the University of Edinburgh.

The information is relevant because the flu seems to have returned in many countries, as is the case in Spain, where after two years almost disappeared, it has returned to circulate with force, as reflected in the data of the Influenza Surveillance System in Spain.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Liverpool, Leiden University and Imperial College London (UK) stress that the findings show the need for more flu testing of Covid-19 patients in hospital and highlight the importance of full vaccination against Covid-19, but also against the flu.

The research, carried out as part of the Coronavirus Clinical Characterization Consortium of the International Consortium on Acute and Emerging Respiratory Infections (ISARIC), is the largest study ever conducted of people with Covid-19 and other endemic respiratory viruses. The study of ISARIC it was created in 2013 in preparation for a pandemic like this.

The team analyzed data from adults who had been hospitalized with Covid-19 in the UK between February 6, 2020, and December 8, 2021.

It was already known that a flu infection could lead to a similar situation, but there was less data on the results of a double infection of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses.

Using data from an 18-month period, Swets notes, “we found 227 patients who had a co-infection with influenza and SARS-CoV-2, out of 6,965 patients for whom we had test results. A total of 220 were carriers of the cold virus (RSV) and 136 had adenovirus.

However, he clarifies, the data was collected “in a period when there was not much flu circulating in the United Kingdom. If what we expect happens, that there is more circulation of both viruses because now that there are fewer measures to reduce the spread of covid-19, there will be an increase in the number of patients with a co-infection.

“In the last two years, we have seen some Covid-19 patients become seriously ill, sometimes leading to ICU placement and the use of artificial ventilation to help with breathing. It was already known that a flu infection could lead to a similar situation, but there was less data on the results of a double infection of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, “he explains. Maaike Swets.

Researchers have now seen that the combination of Covid-19 and flu viruses is something particularly dangerous, notes Kenneth Baillie, from the University of Edinburgh, which will be “important as many countries reduce the use of social distancing and containment measures. We expect Covid-19 to circulate with the flu, increasing the possibility of co-infections.”

In Spain, just before the sixth wave, points Catalan Pillarfrom the Microbiology Service of the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid, we began to see more cases of influenza and RSV and since November there had been coinfections of influenza and Covid, but until then there had been few cases.

Swets believes “we should change our testing strategy for COVID-19 patients in hospital and do more screening for the flu.”

Because, as in the case of Spain, as we are returning to a more normalized life, for example without masks, “we see an increase in the usual seasonal respiratory viruses, which makes us think that the flu will circulate together with Covid-19 this winter”, Calum Semplefrom the University of Liverpool.

Semple is surprised “that the risk of death doubled when people were infected with the flu and Covid-19 viruses. For this reason, he emphasizes, it is very important that people fully vaccinated and potentiated against both viruses, and don’t give up until it’s too late.”

The work shows that in addition to the risk of death and complications, and its authors suspect that, just as many people who are discharged from hospital after a serious infection suffer from greater frailty, it is possible that coinfected patients also suffer from this complication.

Although being infected with more than one virus is not very common, it is important to keep in mind that co-infections do occur. “The vaccines that protect against Covid-19 and the flu are different and people need both,” he explains. Peter Openshawteacher of Experimental Medicine at Imperial College London.

Unfortunately, the study data did not report vaccination status, either for influenza or SARS-CoV-2, “so we cannot determine the effect of vaccination in coinfected patients,” says Swet. However, she adds, “we know that the vaccine against Covid-19 is very effective to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations, and deaths from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and that the flu vaccine does the same for the flu, so we encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. Hopefully, future studies will be able to determine a more precise effect of vaccination against both viruses and the risk of complications in co-infection.”

In addition, adds Openshaw, that the way these two infections are treated is also different, “so it is important to carry out tests for other viruses even when you have a diagnosis in someone who is hospitalized with a respiratory infection.”

Knowing if a patient has a co-infection is very important, so hospitals should focus on testing patients for both SARS-CoV-2 and influenza

Currently, Swet emphasizes, “we do not know if the treatments that are effective in Covid-19 will also be effective in coinfected patients. Knowing if a patient has a co-infection is very important, so hospitals should focus on testing patients for both SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. Both can cause serious illness and both need to be treated.”

In our study, he continues, “we saw that many of the coinfected patients were older and had comorbidities, although severe disease can also occur in younger patients who are completely healthy.”

In this sense, Pilar Catalán points out, they are the most vulnerable people, immunosuppressed, or older people who, in addition to those who are not vaccinated against Covid or the flu, because they can deal with both viruses at the same time and have a higher gravity.

In any case, says Catalán, he points out that coinfections are not very frequent, “now we are seeing about one a day of patients, usually outpatients, that is, they are samples that come to us from primary school, which I understand are patients who are not in serious condition. ».

Understanding the consequences of dual infections of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses is crucial, concludes Geert Groeneveld, “as they have implications for patients, hospitals and ICU capacity during seasons when SARS-CoV -2 and the flu circulate together.

See them
comments

You may also like

Leave a Comment