They still exist, the other viruses.

Respiratory diseases can of course also be caused by metapneumoviruses, RSV or influenza viruses, regardless of the pandemic.

So far, the Robert Koch Institute has only registered comparatively few cases of flu this winter, around 4,000 since October 2021. However, the numbers could increase if pandemic measures, such as distance rules or the obligation to wear masks, fall and viruses become more rampant again.

How dangerous would double infections be, in which people are infected with Sars-CoV-2 and the flu pathogen at the same time?

A current study in the journal

The Lancet

addresses this question .

Johanna Kuroczik

Editor in the "Science" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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Researchers from the University of Leiden, Netherlands, and Edinburgh, Scotland, analyzed the data from around 210,000 patients who were hospitalized with a Sars-CoV-2 infection in the UK between February 2020 and December 2021.

Of these, only around 7,000 were even tested for another virus.

Of these, 8.4 percent had a co-infection: 227 patients had also been infected with influenza viruses, while most of the others had either RSV or an adenovirus detected.

The combination of influenza and Covid-19 in particular exacerbated the course of the disease.

Doubly infected people were four times more likely to need mechanical ventilation, and they were also significantly more likely to die in hospital.

The data does not show what effects the corona vaccinations have, and the number of patients treated was manageable.

Overall, there is still a need for research on the dangers of double infection.

In this country, it is currently not possible to determine with certainty how many people have already been affected.

There is parallel evidence of influenza viruses and Sars-CoV-2 in individual patients, reports Marieke Degen, a spokeswoman for the Robert Koch Institute, where the Influenza Working Group is located, which monitors the flu infection process.

So far there have been 16 reports, but it is not possible to say whether these are double infections or delayed infections.

"The exact number is difficult to determine because the influenza virus circulation is not monitored to the same extent as Sars-CoV-2."

Influenza activity in Germany is currently comparatively low, according to reports from the Influenza Working Group.

However, patients who have already tested positive for the corona virus with a cough and fever are often asked to stay away from the doctor's office.

A spokesman for the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians says that it is currently only possible to speculate on exactly how often influenza tests are carried out there.

In fact, the Robert Koch Institute explains that the exact number of tests is not known when it comes to the number of influenza reports.

However, it is assumed that more tests are currently being carried out for influenza than before the pandemic, since it is generally recommended that patients with respiratory symptoms also be tested for influenza.

"The National Reference Center for Influenza Viruses at the Robert Koch Institute examined a similarly high number of systematically collected samples as in the years before the pandemic."

The flu epidemic was particularly violent in the winter of 2017/2018, with around 25,000 deaths being assumed.

Last year, however, the influenza season in Germany was practically non-existent, so few positive samples were registered.

As a side effect, distance rules, masks and contact restrictions ensured that other viruses also spread less well.