New York, Jan 6 After Israel detected cases of simultaneous flu and Covid-19 infections, the US has now detected two such cases in children from Texas and California, media reports said.
The first case was diagnosed at Texas Children's Hospital on Monday after a test confirmed the child was infected with both influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes Covid-19, USA Today reported.
The child was not hospitalised and is said to be recovering at home. No other details about the patient were immediately available, the report said.
The second case was discovered in Brentwood, southern California on New Year's Day at a mobile testing centre. The patient, from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was visiting the US on a family vacation.
The child was experiencing symptoms but in "fairly good condition" and has not been hospitalised, Steve Farzam, CEO of 911 Covid testing, was quoted as saying to local media on Wednesday. The minor was sent home with parents after the test.
However, it is unclear if either child has received their Covid or flu shots, the report said.
According to the news website Ynetnews, the double infection was first identified in a pregnant Israeli woman who went into labour at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
She was suffering mild symptoms and health officials are studying her case to determine whether the combination causes any greater severity of illness.
Covid has generally been very mild in children, but off late the US has seen significant increase in paediatric hospitalisation due to the infectious virus.
"This is one confirmed case and, of course, we'll be working with our colleagues across the country to see if there are more cases and whether we will see a distinct pattern in these cases," Dr. Jim Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief and Covid command center co-leader at Texas Children's Hospital, told reporters.
The hospital was also the first in the nation to report joint infections of Covid and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, over the summer, Daily Mail reported. Health experts also expect to see a rise in co-infections and warn both the flu and Covid can cause serious illness.
The Los Angeles County Health Department reiterates that "concurrent infection with more than one respiratory virus is exceedingly common and there is no reason to expect that SARS-CoV-2 should be an exception to this rule", the report said.
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