coinfection

noun

co·​in·​fec·​tion kō-in-ˈfek-shən 

variants or co-infection

plural coinfections or co-infections

: concurrent infection of a cell or organism with two or more pathogenic agents

coinfection with influenza A and SARS-CoV-2

coinfect

kō-in-ˈfekt 

transitive verb

or co-infect

coinfected or co-infected; coinfecting or co-infecting; coinfects or co-infects

Some experts suspect that superspreaders might have a more virulent strain of coronavirus or be co-infected with other microbes.

—Aparisim Ghosh

Examples of coinfection in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The risk of death from babesiosis turned out to be higher among the people who were infected with that disease alone, as opposed to those who had coinfections. —Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 16 Oct. 2024

Related article To prevent supercharged flu virus, CDC pushes seasonal flu vaccines to farmworkers at risk of coinfection with bird flu The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bases decisions on its surveillance. —Amy Maxmen, CNN, 2 Aug. 2024

The vaccine will not prevent bird flu infection, but can reduce the risk of coinfection with avian and flu viruses. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 30 May 2024

Globally, about 75% of patients hospitalized with COVID were given antibiotics, despite only 8% having a bacterial coinfection where antibiotics would be medically useful. —Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 29 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

coinfection

noun

co·​in·​fec·​tion

variants or co-infection

ˌkō-in-ˈfek-shən 

: concurrent infection of a cell or organism with two or more pathogenic agents

pneumonia caused by coinfection with an orthomyxovirus and a streptococcus

coinfect transitive verb

or co-infect

-ˈfekt