2023-11-23 09:08:34
Published on Nov. 23, 2023 at 9:14 a.m. Updated on Nov. 23, 2023 at 11:56 a.m.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday asked China for “detailed information” on an increase in respiratory illnesses and “pneumonia outbreaks” among children, while the country’s main pediatric medical centers are overwhelmed with patients.
This request, described as a “routine check” by the local WHO office in Beijing, comes almost four years following the appearance in China of a mysterious “viral pneumonia”, which was to be the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the time, the WHO was criticized for its lack of responsiveness. In the following months, the international organization criticized the Chinese authorities for their lack of transparency during the investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
First winter outside “zero-Covid”
On November 13, in front of the press, Chinese authorities from the National Health Commission held a press conference to report an increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases, appearing to hit children particularly hard.
They attributed this increase to the abandonment, almost a year ago, of anti-Covid health restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens, as northern China enters winter.
The WHO cited reports, including one released this week by ProMED, which tracks infectious disease outbreaks around the world, warning of “undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China.” As worried parents and children flock to pediatric units in Beijing, the Chinese capital, located in the north of the country, is currently facing a cold snap, with negative night temperatures.
The city “is entering a season with a high incidence of infectious respiratory diseases,” Wang Quanyi, deputy director and chief epidemiologist of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, reminded reporters on Wednesday.
WHO said it had requested additional epidemiological and clinical information, as well as laboratory results regarding reported outbreaks in children, through the International Health Regulations mechanism. She also requested information from China on the circulation of known pathogens and the burden on health systems.
Local media have reported a steady increase in infections with a pathogen called mycoplasma among children in nursery and primary schools. While the germ tends to cause only mild colds in older children and adults, young children are susceptible to developing pneumonia, the symptoms of which last for weeks.
Precautionary measures
Mycoplasma can cause major epidemics every three to seven years, warned Tong Zhaohui, the vice dean of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, China’s main medical center for respiratory diseases. Adding to the challenge, the antibiotic most commonly used to treat mycoplasma infections faces higher drug resistance in China than anywhere else in the world.
Up to 60 to 70 percent of cases in adults and up to 80 percent of cases in children do not respond to the drug, Yin Yudong, an infectious disease doctor, told Beijing News. Data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention also showed that the flu positivity rate rose steadily in October while Covid rates continue to decline following a small spike over the summer.
The WHO recommends that people residing in China take measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness, including vaccination, distancing from sick people, isolation if symptoms occur, testing and treatment if necessary, and wearing a mask.
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