The flu reduces part of the effects of covid – La Razón

The pandemic of the disease caused by the coronavirus 2019, covid-19, and caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has resulted in a global health crisis. In total, more than 564 million cases have been detected. 6.4 million have died and have recovered, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), about 536 million. In Spain, the figures speak of 13 million cases and almost 110,000 deaths. Despite the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs approved by the respective agencies, SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread throughout the world, with the frequent appearance of new variants viral. The WHO said a week ago that a rise in covid-19 cases is expected in Europe this summer and urged governments to monitor the spread as cases tripled in the last month. The European Center for Prevention and Disease Detection (ECDC) recognizes four variants of interest, that is, those that indicate a significant impact on transmissibility, severity and/or immunity that is likely to have an impact on the epidemiological situation in the region.«As countries of the European region lift the social measures that were previously in force, the virus will be transmitted at high levels during the summer» –explained the WHO regional director in Eur opa, the Belgian Hans Kluge–. “This virus will not go away just because countries stop looking for it. It’s still spreading, it’s still changing and it’s still claiming lives.” With Omicron’s BA.5 subvariant, one of four that has been declared an object of concern by the WHO, milder but more contagious, spreading throughout On the continent, the 53 countries of the WHO European region currently register just under 500,000 cases daily, according to the organization’s data. That’s up from about 150,000 cases a day at the end of May. Add to that a problem: the flu (or influenza). The WHO estimates that around 1 billion people in the world are infected with seasonal influenza each year. Annual deaths Of these, between 0.3 and 0.5% have a severe case of influenza. In total, there are between 290,000 and 650,000 annual deaths from influenza. What happens then if we get infected with the flu and SARS-CoV-2 at the same time? The reality is that both viruses are similar in several ways. These are airborne and highly contagious pathogens. Both flu and covid, but from what is known to date, the virus responsible for the latter spreads more easily. At the same time, covid can cause more severe illness than the flu in some people, and those who have tested positive may take longer to develop symptoms and remain contagious for longer periods of time. Despite this, it is not possible to differentiate between the two viruses just by paying attention to the symptoms because some of them are the same: fever, cough, tiredness, sore throat. They also belong to different virus families: SARS-CoV-2 a the Coronaviridae family, while influenza is a member of the Orthomyxoviridae family. To date, several clinical studies have reported SARS-CoV-2 co-infection with other viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C and influenza viruses. These last cases, in particular, were common at the beginning of the pandemic, before the application of masks and social distancing. A meta-analysis of published studies from the first 4 months of the pandemic showed viral co-infection with SARS and influenza in 3% of hospitalized covid patients. Now, a team from New York University, led by Benjamin Tenoever, investigated the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and the influenza virus both in cells and in animal models, in this case in mice. Animals were administered the 2 viruses simultaneously and examined on days 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14 after infection. At the same time, two other groups of mice were inoculated with the viruses in a different way: one was infected first with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and three days later with the flu, and the other group in the reverse order. Both groups were controlled 1, 3 and 5 days after the second infection. The results of the tests showed that both the simultaneous infection and the one in which SARS-CoV-2 went first, did not produce changes. However, Tenoever’s team did find that the flu virus interferes with the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to replicate in the lung, even more than 1 week after the flu virus is no longer in the body. Various factors The data suggest that there would be certain factors (intrinsic or induced by the influenza virus) that may limit the growth of SARS-CoV-2, but it is not yet clear if this effect plays a role in the severity of the disease.« The research is important because the human population now has 2 circulating respiratory RNA viruses with high pandemic potential: SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. Since both viruses infect the respiratory tract and can cause significant morbidity and mortality, it is imperative that we also understand the consequences of co-infection. Still, the results suggest that co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus does not pose an imminent threat to humanity. This study could be used as an example of how an immune response to something unrelated can provide protection against SARS-CoV-2.” reflect the variety of age, gender, and also consider different diseases that negatively influence SARS-CoV-2. For our good.