Co-infection of SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A: a report from in Southwestern Iran

Saber Soltani¹, Milad Zandi², Mona Fani³, Armin Zakeri⁴, Reza Pakzad^5,6, Shokrollah Salmanzadeh⁷, Iman Naamipouran⁸, Seyed Mohamad Ali Malaekeh⁸, Samaneh Abbasi^9*

1. Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
3. Vector-borne Diseases Research Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran
4. Department of Hematology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
5. Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Ilam University Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
6. Student Research Committee, Ilam University Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
7. Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Health Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
8. Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran
9. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran

Saber Soltani and Milad Zandi have equally contributed to this work

*Correspondence: Samaneh Abbasi; E-mail: s_abbasi80@yahoo.com

Abstract
Background
Since December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) started in China, and quickly spread worldwide. To date, SARS-CoV-2 infection has become a global concern and health problem.
Method
In this study, we evaluated the co-infection of SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza viruses in confirmed COVID-19 patients in Abadan, Iran. They referred to the centers for COVID-19 detection at Abadan University of Medical Sciences in Southwest Iran. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal throat swabs were collected from each person and tested for Influenza A using a multiplex Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Results
In this study, among 40 SARS-CoV-2-positive cases, 2 patients (5%) were co-infected with influenza A virus.
Conclusion
The low frequency of influenza in our study could be due to the small sample size, which is one of the main limitations of our study. Also, other respiratory tract infections were not investigated in this study.