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Not at first. Influenza is a disease transmitted by a single mutated virus and only one mutation can infect the body at a time. But there may be exceptions. “The combination of two mutations of the flu virus in a single person could theoretically happen, but it would be rare”, says infectologist Antonio Carlos Misiara, from Hospital Sírio Libanês, in São Paulo. This happens because the human body has a defense against the simultaneous attack of these creatures. “When the body detects the presence of a virus, the immune system produces a substance called interferon. Its function is to fight the enemy that is already in the body, but it prevents the entry of any other virus that attacks the respiratory system and is nearby wanting to infiltrate”, says Antonio Carlos. The virus responsible for all flu epidemics, influenza A, is a villain that alters its genetic structure to escape our body’s natural immunity and vaccines.
The main symptoms of the flu are persistent cough and high fever. Another very similar illness is the common cold, but it is less severe and requires a shorter recovery time. “The similarity is that colds are also contracted by viruses, but their variety is very large (there are around 400) and almost none are mutants”, says Antonio Carlos. The doctor clarifies that not even the flu virus and any other cold usually attack together.