Romania registered its first group of cases pertaining to the flu and COVID-19 mixed infection nicknamed "Flurona" on Monday.   

According to local media, the cases identified are all in children, as doctors warn that the symptoms are very serious, and those affected must be immediately hospitalized. Medical experts suggest the belief that the mixture of the two infections is due to weak immunity.    

The cases were taken and registered at Matei Bals hospital in Bucharest, with patients suffering from extreme headaches, and muscle or joint pain. Possible pulmonary complications alongside respiratory failure may occur according to media citing medical professionals.

Five hospitals in Romania have stopped accepting new patients because they have gone over capacity with patients experiencing severe respiratory infections. With only nine days since the beginning of 2023, Flurona cases have been registered in Croatia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Moldovia.

Mask-wearing and test-taking are advised as soon as symptoms arise. 

Flurona will potentially become a global health concern, if it already isn't, and with weak immunities and anti-vaccination efforts, it may cause more concern. 

Only 16% of people aged 18 and older and 36% of seniors in the US have received the new booster shot, which became available in September. Even those who have been immunized but haven't had a shot in a while may not be adequately protected against major infections because the vaccines' potency degrades with time.

Children in the US have been severely afflicted by a triple-demic of three separate respiratory viruses. As a result, drugstore shelves are barren, forcing parents to suffer to get the hard-to-find medications.

In the UK, NHS records show a 40% increase in the number of flu patients in the UK being treated in hospitals in December. 482 persons were admitted to the hospital with the flu each day on average, up from 344 the week before.