All that you need to know about Florona: Even as the world witnessed a recent spike in the Omricron cases, a new concern over ‘Florona’ has emerged.
As per the media reports, Florona has been described as an infection caused by both influenza and coronavirus at the same time.
Israel, on December 31, 2021, announced the first case of Florona disease, which is a double-infection of the COVID-19 and influenza, amid the fears of Omicron taking over the Delta variant of COVID-19.
To be a little more specific, COVID-19 and influenza are both different infectious respiratory diseases and they share some similar symptoms.
A person simultaneously contracting both the influenza virus and Sars-CoV-2 has been reportedly described as ‘Florona’. This has left people puzzled and sparked fears.
Let us know about Florona in a better way
What is Florona?
Florona is a portmanteau of Coronavirus and influenza.
It stands for Flu + Corona.
As per the media report, the disease was first identified in a woman who went into labor this week in Israel and was also not vaccinated against COVID-19.
So, as stated, Florona is a combination of flu and Coronavirus and double infection of the COVID-19. It is not a newly discovered disease and is caused by different viruses. There are some differences in evaluating who is most vulnerable to severe disease, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Is it another variant of the COVID-19?
No. As per reports, the virus is not a new variant of Coronavirus but it is a double infection that causes a major breakdown of a person’s immunity when covid-19 and flu enter the body at the same time.
When the viruses of both flu and Coronavirus are present in a body at the same time, it is regarded as Florona disease.
Symptoms of Florona
Both the diseases, namely- flu and Covid-19 have some similar effects.
Both hit your respiratory system. According to the WHO, symptoms of both flu and COVID-19 can vary from person to person, however, some common symptoms which have been noted among people around the globe are —
- Loss of taste and smell
- Cold and cough
- Shortness of breath
- Loss of appetite
- Consistent pain in the chest
- How does it spread?
One more relevant point that draws similarity between both the diseases is that both COVID-19 and flu are spread when aerosol particles contaminated with the virus are released by an infected person while coughing, speaking or sneezing and a healthy person breathes that infected air.
It usually takes around 2 to 10 days for the symptoms to appear after being infected with the virus and the risk of spreading the virus to others is greater during the initial days, according to a Times of India report.
Treatment of this Florona disease
The treatment options in use for COVID-19 at medical facilities include oxygen, corticosteroids, and IL6 receptor blockers for severely ill patients, according to a Moneycontrol report.
WHO says that mild symptoms can be treated at home and does not require hospitalisation.
It further says that measures such as social distancing, wearing a well-fitted mask should be followed. It also suggested that the most effective way to protect yourself from both influenza and severe COVID is to get vaccinated with both influenza and COVID vaccines and asked to follow the advice of your local authorities on getting influenza and COVID-19 vaccines.
