In-Depth: Don’t let terms like ‘flurona’ and ‘deltacron’ worry you

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — In the week you may have seen “flurona” or “deltacron” in COVID-19 headlines.

News10NBC went in-depth on these terms.

The term “Deltacron” made headlines over the weekend when Bloomberg reported “Cyprus Finds Covid-19 Infections That Combine Delta and Omicron”, saying 25 cases of infection of combined delta and omicron strains were found.

But medical experts told CNBC they doubt that the strains are combined, saying it’s more likely the result of a lab processing error.

As for the term “flurona”, it doesn’t refer to a new disease or variant either.

Doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital say the term actually refers to co-infection of the flu and COVID-19.

"Ray, a professor of infectious diseases at @HopkinsMedicine, said that ‘flurona’ is not a clinical term or a real medical condition. But he said you can be infected with the flu and the coronavirus at the same time." https://t.co/dA1IVL3reg

— Johns Hopkins University (@JohnsHopkins) January 7, 2022

There have been records of people testing positive for both viruses.

Doctors say their advice for fighting the diseases separately is the same: Wear masks, socially distance and get vaccinated.