COVID, flu, colds and RSV: Can more than one hit you at once? : Shots - Health News - NPR

With COVID, flu and acold viruses spreading wide this winter, researchers looked into whether you tin get infected with much than 1 astatine once. Nathan Howard/AP hide caption

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Nathan Howard/AP

With COVID, flu and acold viruses spreading wide this winter, researchers looked into whether you tin get infected with much than 1 astatine once.

Nathan Howard/AP

If you're similar astir Americans, idiosyncratic successful your household oregon societal ellipse is sick close present with COVID, flu, a acold oregon RSV. With the rolling waves of sickness hitting galore households, immoderate radical are wondering: Could I person caught much than 1 of these germs astatine the aforesaid time?

The reply is: Yes, it tin happen. There's plentifulness of grounds of radical investigating affirmative for, say, COVID and the flu oregon flu and RSV simultaneously.

"Absolutely, you tin drawback much than 1 microorganism astatine the aforesaid time," says Dr. Tina Tan, a pediatric infectious illness specializer astatine Northwestern University.

"We've had kids that person really had 3 antithetic viruses. Some of them travel successful with RSV. They've besides had influenza and enterovirus. There person been different kids who person presented with COVID and influenza."

The hazard for aggregate infections is particularly precocious this twelvemonth due to the fact that truthful galore viruses person been surging together.

"It's benignant of cleanable tempest for co-infections," Tan says.

It's unclear conscionable however often this happens due to the fact that astir of the investigating for this benignant of happening is done connected hospitalized patients, who astir apt aren't typical of the wide public. But immoderate studies person recovered co-infections successful up to 20% of those patients.

The risk, however, doesn't look to beryllium the aforesaid for everyone. Children look to beryllium acold much apt to get much than 1 bug connected apical of the other, particularly precise young kids, researchers say.

"About 20% of infants little than six months of property hospitalized with the flu person had co-infection with RSV," says Dr. Shikha Garg, a aesculapian epidemiologist astatine the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That fig drops to astir 13% of kids six months to 2 years aged and little than 5% for 5 years and up.

The crushed children are much prone to co-infections is unclear, but determination are theories.

"It could beryllium conscionable due to the fact that they're perpetually being exposed to respiratory infections," says Amanda Jamieson, who studies viruses astatine Brown University. "But it could besides beryllium that they're immune systems conscionable haven't built up the immunity that older radical have."

That said, co-infections tin hap astatine immoderate age, particularly among older radical and others with weaker immune systems.

At the aforesaid time, determination is increasing grounds that co-infections tin beryllium much superior past conscionable getting sick with 1 microorganism astatine a time. In fact, a caller CDC survey released Wednesday finds that's the case.

The study, which was published successful the diary Pediatrics, involving much than 4,000 hospitalized kids recovered those who had COVID positive different virus, specified arsenic a acold virus, were importantly much apt to necessitate oxygen to assistance them respire and to extremity up requiring intensive care.

"We recovered that children nether 5 had astir doubly the likelihood of having terrible unwellness erstwhile they had a [<co-infection] compared to erstwhile they conscionable SARS-CoV2 infection," says Dr. Nickolas Agathis, a pediatrician and a aesculapian serviceman with the CDC who led the study. "The children nether 2 who has RSV were doubly arsenic apt to person terrible unwellness compared to children who conscionable had COVID and not RSV also."

The results underscore the value of investigating patients hospitalized with respiratory infections to marque definite they're getting the close treatment, Agathis says.

The crushed wherefore co-infections would beryllium much terrible that isn't wholly clear, but it could beryllium due to the fact that aggregate infections origin much inflammation and due to the fact that antithetic respiratory viruses harm the lungs successful antithetic ways.

"It's astir arsenic though you're getting punched much than once, and that tin marque you sicker," says Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious illness specializer astatine Vanderbilt University.

The champion happening radical tin bash to trim the hazard is each the things radical person been doing the past fewer years to support themselves from corruption during the pandemic: Get vaccinated, against some COVID and the flu; lavation your hands a lot; and deterioration a disguise successful crowded, poorly ventilated places and astir sick people.

"Getting vaccinated with influenza and SARS-CoV2 vaccines and staying up to day connected that is captious for protecting children arsenic good arsenic assemblage and household members," says Dr. Fiona Havers, a aesculapian epidemiologist astatine the CDC. "Staying location erstwhile you're sick is critical."