‘Flurona’ wave hits Darling Downs hospitals as cases spike

A concerning rise in ‘flurona’ cases hits hospitals amid wave of double virus infections in the Darling Downs.

A WAVE of influenza and Covid-19 cases – and sometimes dangerous combination of both infections labelled “flurona” – is putting a strain on the Darling Downs health system, as experts warn the pandemic is not over yet.

In the past week the Darling Downs recorded 221 flu cases, bringing the region’s total cases for the year to date to 962.

This sharp rise in flu cases has been accompanied by 44 Covid-19 positive patients currently being treated in Darling Downs hospitals.

Dr Kirsty Short of the University of Queensland School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences said this flu season would be dangerous because of vaccine fatigue and minimal immunity after two years of restrictions.

“What we are seeing now is a real bounce back of the flu, we are having a very unusually high peak of flu which we normally don’t see at this time of the year, and that is most likely reflective of the fact there is less immunity in the population,” Dr Short said.

“This is partly because flu hasn’t been circulating in the past two years and also partly because last year people weren’t too concerned with getting the flu vaccine.”

Dr Short said while there was currently no evidence to determine the long-term impacts of contracting both infections, a “co-infection” was a concern for healthcare systems.

“What we know from experimental data is that typically if you are co-infected, so you have both viruses, you tend to have a worse disease,” Dr Short said.

“But what is also a concern of having flu and Covid circulating is that you are putting a big burden on the healthcare system.”

Director of public health and community medicine at the Darling Downs Public Health Unit Dr Liam Flynn said the flu season was off to a challenging start because of rising cases of influenza and Covid infecting people around the same time.

“This flu season is bringing with it new challenges, because it’s the first year we’re seeing people test positive for both influenza and COVID-19 in a short period of time,” Dr Flynn said.

“Since May 2022, there have been 36 people in the Darling Downs Health region who contracted COVID-19 either seven days before or after contracting influenza.”

Originally published as ‘Flurona’ wave hits Darling Downs hospitals as cases spike