Flu season could hamper testing

Come fall, the rise of influenza and other seasonal respiratory infections could exacerbate already staggering delays in coronavirus testing, making it easier for the virus to spread unnoticed, experts said.

In typical years, doctors often do not test for flu, simply assuming that patients with coughs, fevers and fatigue during winter are probably carrying the virus. But this year, with the coronavirus bringing similar symptoms, doctors will need to test for both — further straining supply shortages in an already overwhelmed testing system.

Manufacturers have begun making tests that can screen for several pathogens at once. But these combo tests are expensive and will likely make up only a fraction of the market.

“The flu season is a bit of a ticking time bomb,” said Amanda Harrington, medical director of microbiology at Loyola University Medical Center. “We are all waiting and trying to prepare as best we can.”

Flu viruses and coronaviruses differ in many ways, including how they spread, how long they linger in the body and the groups they affect most severely.

Being infected with one virus does not preclude contracting the other. And researchers do not know how risky it is for a person to harbor both viruses at the same time.

Those differences make it essential to tease the two pathogens apart, as well as rule out other common wintry infections. But several tests use similar machines and chemicals, and require handling and processing by trained personnel. What’s more, many flu and other tests vanished from the market when companies pivoted to address the coronavirus.

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