If influenza is characterized by “high fever, chills, cough, joint and muscle pain, fatigue” according to the health insurance website, Covid generally manifests itself by fever, difficulty breathing, body aches, headaches and unusual fatigue, to which may be added a possible loss of taste and taste. the smell.
Faced with such similarities, “some indicators used for influenza surveillance are syndromic and therefore do not rely on biological confirmation of influenza infection”, also recalls Public Health France in its latest epidemiological bulletin. “In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is therefore likely that some of the cases of influenza-like illnesses reported by our influenza surveillance are due to Covid-19 and not to influenza”, adds the health agency. In case of symptoms, the best alternative to identify the virus causing the infection remains screening.