HEALTH authorities in Israel dubbed a joint infection of flu and Covid-19 in a pregnant woman “flurone” – but a leading virologist has told The National the co-infection is nothing new and does not indicate the two viruses have merged.

The woman, who was not vaccinated against either, has since given birth after showing mild symptoms, while further cases have emerged in California.

But Dr Jeremy Rossman, a senior lecturer in virology at the University of Kent’s School of Biosciences, said he was surprised when Israeli health officials gave it a new name and said it was the first time they had seen it.

He said the issue had been reported from early in the pandemic, and had generated numerous publications, case studies and clinical reports.

“I thought for a minute what they were talking about was that they had gotten a co-infection between flu and Covid and had generated a completely new virus, like the viruses had actually re-combined and made something new,” he said.

“In that case, it would be something completely new and very concerning, but the reality is no, it was just a patient that had a co-infection with both.”

Rossman said there was reason to be concerned that uninformed comments could trigger public alarm given the confusing data on co-infections.

Some reports had suggested it could lower the replication of the flu and Sars-Cov-2 viruses, leading to slightly milder outcomes, while others had said it could lead to more severe pneumonia and worse outcomes.

“It’s not completely clear in terms of the outcomes, but we do know that there is that slight risk that if both viruses are in the same person at the same time – they’re both RNA viruses – there is a chance that they could exchange a little bit of genetic material between the two of them,” said Rossman.

“We’ve never seen that happen, but it’s hypothetically possible and so that’s the added concern, because the last thing you want is a crossover between the two viruses.

“That would be horrible, and I think that’s where a little bit of the fear and concern comes from.”

He warned that with the flu season in the Northern hemisphere, relaxation of some travel restrictions and people moving around without masks, we had started to see a rise in flu transmission.

The number of people with co-infection was also likely to be higher than thought because he said testing people for Covid-19 and flu together was infrequent.

Rossman added that Covid-19 has become a part of our everyday lives and is likely to remain a constant for some time: “I think this is something that we are living with to a certain extent, but it’s something that’s going to require actions for quite a long time.”