Peru reports first 'flurona' death

Lima, Jan 7: Peru's Health Ministry has reported the country's first fatal case of "flurona" (a simultaneous infection of flu and Covid-19), involving an 87-year-old patient with comorbidities who was not vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The deceased was one of three cases of flurona detected in northern Peru's Amazonas region, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Cesar Munayco, a researcher at the ministry's National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Control of Diseases.

The other two cases included a minor and a 40-year-old person who was fully vaccinated against Covid-19, said Munayco.

Those infected presented symptoms such as cough, sore throat and general malaise, Munayco said, urging the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza because that "reduces the risk of dying."

"It is important to take this into account, because we currently have a major outbreak of H3N2 influenza in the country's jungle, such as (the regions of) Loreto, San Martin, Amazonas and Ucayali," Munayco warned.

Peru announced its third wave of Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, accelerated by the arrival in December of the Omicron variant, which has already led to 309 confirmed cases in this South American nation.