An unvaccinated, pregnant woman from Israel has contracted the country's first case of "flurona," a simultaneous infection of COVID-19 and the seasonal flu, according to reports.
The woman was diagnosed after arriving at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikvah last week, according to the Times of Israel.
The Times of Israel reported that the first cases of "flurona" were seen in the United States in early 2020.
“She was diagnosed with the flu and coronavirus as soon as she arrived,” said Arnon Vizhnitser, director of the hospital’s Gynecology Department.
The woman was reportedly released from the hospital on Thursday, and is currently in good condition.
“Both tests came back positive, even after we checked again,” Vizhnitser said, adding that “the disease is the same disease. They’re viral and cause difficulty breathing since both attack the upper respiratory tract.”
The Israeli Health Ministry is studying her case to see if the combination of flu and COVID-19 can cause a more severe illness.
“Last year, we did not witness flu cases among pregnant or birthing women,” Vizhnitser. “Today, we are seeing cases of both coronavirus and the flu that are starting to rear their head.”
According to Agence France-Presse, Israeli authorities have reported 4,206 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours -- a 195% spike over the past week. There have been 1.4 million COVID-19 cases in the country, accounting for 8,244 deaths.
More than 4 million of Israel's 9.2 million residents have received three COVID-19 shots.
The country recently approved a second booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for those immunocompromised and for elderly people that live in care homes. They also announced on Sunday that they will offer a fourth shot of the vaccine to people over the age of 60 and health care workers.
“We now have a new layer of defense,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said. “Israel will once again be pioneering the global vaccination effort.”
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