2023-11-23 08:19:00
the essentials Many cases of pneumonia and respiratory diseases are reported in China in children. And it’s not regarding Covid-19. Children’s hospitals are overwhelmed. The World Health Organization says it is concerned.
Respiratory infections, hospitalized patients, closed schools… A scenario which strangely resembles the appearance of Covid-19 at the end of December 2019 in China. Is the scenario repeating itself four years later? The ProMED global disease surveillance system reports as yet unconfirmed cases of pneumonia in children in northern China.
On social networks, the images are worrying: the hospital at the Beijing Institute of Pediatrics is submerged, the wait in the emergency room lasts hours and schools have had to close their doors.
#Covid Returns, Never Left, or a New #Virus Emerges?
Recently, numerous cities across #China have seen children’s hospitals overcrowded, with a widespread online circulation of news regarding mass infections among medical staff.
There’s been a surge in cases of children suffering… pic.twitter.com/K4EtpdxBgM— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng Zeng Chong Mantra (@jenniferzeng97) November 23, 2023
u26a0ufe0fUNDIAGNOSED PNEUMONIA OUTBREAK—An emerging large outbreak of pneumonia in China, with pediatric hospitals in Beijing, Liaoning overwhelmed with sick children, & many schools suspended. Beijing Children’s Hospital overflowing. ?on what we know so far:pic.twitter.com/hmgsQO4NEZ
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) November 22, 2023
‘Pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma’ surges in China, 67 children ‘lung-washed’ daily
Recently, hospitals across China have been overwhelmed with patients suffering from Mycoplasma pneumonia, and a large number of children have been diagnosed with “white lung” disease. At a… pic.twitter.com/FlCSUzwi5K
— Spotlight on China (@spotlightoncn) November 17, 2023
What are the symptoms ?
According to the first signs, children are the first affected. Symptoms are high fever, wet cough and fatigue. Scans showed the presence of pulmonary nodules, a sort of “spot on the lung”, generally less than 10 mm.
Rapid spread
ProMED has noticed a rapid spread of these respiratory disorders. “It is unclear when this outbreak began, as it is unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly,” the disease surveillance system says. At this stage, no deaths have been recorded.
An already known bacteria
Although the origin remains to be defined, the bacteria is known to medicine. Its name is: Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Discovered in 1944, it is transmitted by the respiratory route via fine droplets during close contact. Most of the time, the symptoms are mild – cough and fever – and are treated with antibiotics. The incubation period is one to three weeks. As for Covid-19, a PCR test can detect Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The French Society of Microbiology specifies that France has already experienced Mycoplasma pneumoniae respiratory infections between 2010 and 2011. It is responsible for more than 50% of community-acquired pneumonia among 5-15 year olds.
WHO’s concern
The World Health Organization (WHO) has made an official request to China for epidemiological and clinical information on the increase in outbreaks of pneumonia among children. She says she is in contact with doctors and scientists in China. The WHO is already calling on the population to respect “measures aimed at reducing the risk of respiratory disease”. We remember that in 2019, the World Health Organization criticized the Chinese authorities for their lack of transparency on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
WHO statement on reported clusters of respiratory illness in children in northern China
WHO has made an official request to #China for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children.
At a press conference on 13… pic.twitter.com/Jq8TgZjWNX
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 22, 2023
Chinese authorities have an explanation
So what might be the origin of these respiratory diseases? The Chinese authorities have an explanation: the abandonment this year of anti-Covid health restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens. Beijing is currently facing a cold snap, with negative temperatures forecast for Thursday evening. The city “is entering a season with a high incidence of infectious respiratory diseases,” says Wang Quanyi, deputy director and chief epidemiologist of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Epidemiologist Antoine Flahaut thinks he has an explanation: with the abandonment of the zero-Covid policy, many Chinese have not been exposed to winter pathogens for four years. “We experienced this in fall-winter 2022, but not the Chinese because they were still in Zero Covid,” he indicates in The Parisian. “This is the optimistic version, and the most probable.”
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