HYDERABAD: Ever since the news of ‘Florona’ being detected in an Israeli patient broke out, people across the globe have gone into a frenzy, fearing it to be another variant of the notorious Covid-19 virus. Turns out, it’s not. Then, what exactly is it?
Is it as potent as the delta variant or worse? Will you and I contract it? How prepared is India against Florona? Before you look to the ‘WhatsApp University’ to find answers to these, we speak to doctors in the city to alleviate all your fears.
“Florona/Flurona is not the latest variant of Covid, but a concurrent coronavirus and flu infection,” says Dr. J MD Vaseem, a senior pulmonologist at Kamineni Hospitals. He goes on to explain, “Humans don’t usually contract two infections at a time, unless their body reaches an immuno-compromised situation. That generally happens when a person’s body is under extreme stress. The woman, in whom Florona was detected, had just delivered a baby. So, it could have been postpartum body stress. One must also note that she was unvaccinated.”
Dr. Vaseem lists fever, sore throat, cough, running nose, headache and fatigue as some of the symptoms of Florona. “These were the woman’s symptoms, I learnt. But since this was only a single case, it was not thoroughly studied. There are chances of the infection getting worse to the point of the patient’s lungs being damaged and needing life support.”
Speaking about how worried one should be, Dr. Jagadeesh Kumar V, senior consultant physician and member of the Covid team at KIMS Hyderabad, says, “It’s just a coincidence of two viral infections at the same given point of time. So, two viral infections at the same point need not mean it’s scary or fatal. We, particularly in Hyderabad, have also observed Covid and dengue together, which are again both viruses.”
Both the doctors believe that a lack of proper study of the case and poor testing could be the reason why some might not have even known they had Florona. “In fact, the city has seen a surge in the number of influenza cases in the past 10 days. Thankfully, they’ve not been serious cases,” Dr. Jagadeesh says. “Since only one case has been studied, all we can say at this point is that Florona could have the same communicability as most other respiratory viruses,” adds Dr. Vaseem.
When a patient shows such specific symptoms, a doctor can ask them to take both -- an RTPCR and the flu test. “This can help prescribe the right treatment and faster recovery of the patient,” both the doctors say.
On where the country stands in being prepared for Florona, Dr. Vaseem says, “Efforts are on to be prepared for anything that comes our way, we have no high-end technologies, but I think we can handle it well.” Dr Jagadeesh points out how nobody can foresee what kind of a challenge can come next. Until we learn more about Florona, Dr. Vaseem says stick to the basics — wear your masks, wash your hands regularly, maintain social distance and isolate yourself when sick.
Florona, detected in Israel, has left people worried, but thankfully there’s little to worry about, say doctors