In Switzerland, the flu virus begins to circulate at the same time as COVID-19. Some hospitals are testing patients for both the virus and double positive cases have been identified.
The flu pandemic season begins in French-speaking Switzerland. Patients of this virus and Kovid-19 are now being investigated in CHUV.
“We started testing for both flu and Covid during the Christmas and New Year periods for emergencies. But from Friday, we’re testing everyone more widely, for example people who have flu symptoms. those without and those who only come to the hospital for appendicitis”, specifies Gilbert Grebe, infectious scientist and director of the Institute of Microbiology at CHUV, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
a rare event
Since December 19, this laboratory has detected 50 cases of influenza by PCR, including two patients infected with the coronavirus.
In 2020, when the two viruses were circulating at the same time, only 2 co-infections were observed out of 554 cases of influenza in CHUV. Hence the occurrence remains rare. And may be explained by the body’s inflammatory response induced by COVID.
“With the 2020 coronavirus, there was a strong inflammation accompanied by a storm of cytokines that can prevent the flu from setting in a second time. On the other hand, the opposite is not true: if you have the flu you can become infected with the coronavirus” , Gilbert Grebe specifies.
In Wallace, the hospital systematically tests the two viruses even in hospitalized patients. Five cases of double positive were reported. According to preliminary findings, there would be no additional risk to the patients concerned.
Aurelie Coolon/Weeks
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