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Medical community increasingly mindful of co-infection during coronavirus pandemic

Doctors are increasingly considering the possibility of having multiple ailments at once, as well as how best to diagnose them individually.

COMAL COUNTY, Texas — The death of a Canyon Lake man who tested positive for the coronavirus, flu and strep throat has led to questions about co-infection and testing practices.

We asked the experts for answers.

RELATED: Canyon Lake man tests positive for coronavirus after his death

Officials in Comal County explained that when a Canyon Lake man became ill, he sought medical care and tested positive for both the flu and strep throat. After his death on Thursday, he then tested positive for the novel coronavirus as well.  

Information on where he was treated, or if the coronavirus test was ever on the table before his death, was not released. Some in the community wonder if other flu patients could have the coronavirus and not know it.

Dr. Nwando Okafor, medical director and CEO of Riverside ER in New Braunfels, explained how testing protocols have evolved since the pandemic started.

Weeks ago, testing was not widely available. So ruling out other illnesses helped conserve the amount of coronavirus tests that could be done.

“The tests were not available, so you try to eliminate what else it could be first,” Okafor said. “We knew that a lot of the symptoms of coronavirus mirror the flu. So the whole idea was if you were really positive for the flu, the likelihood that you had coronavirus was very minimal.”

Typically after flu testing, some medical facilities would run a respiratory viral panel.

Okafor says testing capacity is increasing and more information about co-infections is being made available.

The Centers for Disease Control are continually updating their guidelines and even published a research letter about a man in China who was diagnosed with the coronavirus, the flu and pneumonia. 

“A lot of my colleagues in New York, they were seeing a lot of those coinfection rates.”

Co-infections are not new, but they are happening in this pandemic. The brighter side is that the cases are being researched and the medical community is making adjustments to testing protocols.

“A lot of the physicians change their practice. So what we do is even if we test you and you’re positive for the flu, if there was a suspicion of COVID-19, (we) have you self- isolate,” Okafor said. 

While there’s no treatment for the coronavirus available yet, there are ways to treat other illnesses, such as prescribing anti-viral drugs to a patient with the flu.

“We also have to remember that the test itself is not fool-proof; you will still have false positive rates and false negative rates,” Okafor said. “What I've always advocated for is, if there is ever suspicion: just quarantine.”

The director of public health in Comal County, Cheryl Fraser, said they share all coronavirus results with the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Click: Comal County Coronavirus Information

Comal County also shared that "the CDC changed their guidance on March 23 to give testing priority health care workers, first responders, older people and people with other illnesses whose treatment might change as a result of having COVID-19 (assuming people in these groups have the symptoms, recent contact, etc., that would lead to needing a test in the first place). Since some of the treatment for flu/strep can actually make COVID-19 worse, this seems to indicate that guidance has recently changed to reflect the possibility of contracting multiple viruses."

“It means we don’t know as much about this virus as we thought we did,” Fraser added, regarding the recent case of the Canyon Lake man's death. 

Healthcare professionals and county leaders, meanwhile, continuing urging everyone do their part in stopping the spread of the coronavirus by staying home.

If you feel sick, call your doctor for guidance. Some practices are able to use TeleHealth to conduct virtual visits. Drive-up testing is also an option in some cases and areas.

Comal County on Monday confirmed its second death from COVID-19 and ... its 10th and 11th cases of the disease. The 10th case was confirmed after a man in his 70s died at his home last week on the north side of Canyon Lake.

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