CA’s First Known 'Flurona' Case Found At Testing Site

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA — A COVID-19 testing site has found the first known case of "flurona" in Los Angeles County, according to a report by KNBC. Flurona is what public health officials are calling a double infection of influenza and the coronavirus.

The case was detected at the Getty Center testing site in Brentwood, KNBC reported Wednesday. It was detected four days ago in a child returning from a trip to Mexico.

Coronavirus hospitalizations in Los Angeles County spiked to well above 2,000 COVID-positive patients Tuesday. Pediatric hospitalizations are also surging, nearly tripling in December.

According to state figures, there were 2,240 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Tuesday, a jump from 1,994 on Monday. Of those patients, 303 were being treated in intensive care, an increase from 278 a day earlier.

SEE ALSO:

• Flurona: What The Heck Is It? And How Worried Should You Be?
  

• Flu Making A Comeback In California Amid COVID-19 Surge
  

• COVID Hospitalizations, Including Pediatric Cases, Surge In LA

• How To Get A Free At-Home COVID Testing Kit In Los Angeles

• New Year Brings 45,000 COVID Cases To Los Angeles County

The flu and coronavirus have similar symptoms including fever, cough, fatigue, runny nose, sore throat, and muscle and body aches. The viruses are also transmitted similarly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far, the only other known case of flurona in the United States was found in a Houston teenager who had been vaccinated against the coronavirus but not the flu, The Washington Post reported.

In California, the flu season got off to a slow start but picked up in mid-December. The December uptick in flu cases comes after a nonexistent 2021 flu season in California because pandemic shutdowns kept the flu from spreading.

As of Dec. 18, the state's most recent reporting period, there were six flu deaths recorded statewide since the October start of the flu season. During that same period, the highly contagious Omicron variant got a foothold in the Golden State, and coronavirus cases exploded.

Since New Year's Eve, there have been more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Los Angeles County, a number expected to grow dramatically in the aftermath of holiday gatherings.

This week, the surge forced courts in LA to delay trials and universities to shift to online classes for the start of the spring semester. Some school districts are delaying a return from winter break, and some cities in Los Angeles County halted in-person municipal services in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

This article originally appeared on the Los Angeles Patch