By Andrew Silver
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The World Health Organization’s request for more information on the increasing respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children in China has garnered global attention.
Health authorities later stated that no unusual or novel pathogens had been detected, and there is no cause for international alarm, according to doctors and public health researchers.
This week, Taiwanese authorities advised the elderly, young children, and those with poor immunity to avoid travel to China.
Below is an overview of what has been discovered about the surge in illness in the world’s second most populous country so far, and why experts believe there is no need to panic.
WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND?
China is preparing for its first full winter since lifting strict COVID-19 restrictions last December. The recent spike in illness gained attention when the WHO sought more information from China after a report by the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children.
Concerns have been fueled further by social media users sharing pictures of children receiving intravenous drips in hospital, and videos of crowded hospitals in cities like Xian circulating in local media, raising worries about potential strains on the healthcare system.
HOW BIG IS THE SURGE?
The National Health Commission revealed an increase in respiratory disease incidence at a news conference on Nov. 13, without providing further details.
WHO China stated that “Chinese health authorities advised that the current numbers they are observing is not greater than the peak in the most recent cold season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
WHAT PATHOGENS ARE CIRCULATING?
The data suggests that the surge is linked to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and adenovirus.
IS MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIAE A BIG WORRY?
Concerns are being raised about the spike in mycoplasma pneumoniae, which has also increased in other countries. Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead at the World Health Organization, reported that the number of cases of mycoplasma pneumoniae seems to be declining, and it is not a reportable disease to the WHO.
Rajib Dasgupta, an epidemiologist and professor of community health, explained that while there may be severe complications from mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in some cases, most people will recover without antibiotics.
WHY EXPERTS AREN’T CONCERNED?
Doctors in China and experts abroad remain unfazed, noting that many countries experienced similar increases in respiratory diseases after easing pandemic measures.
“The cases that we are seeing are nothing unusual at the moment, because it’s still the same cough, colds, fever presentation, and the good thing about it is that it’s actually treatable,” said Cecille Brion, head of the pediatrics department at Raffles Medical Group Beijing.
Van Kerkhove added, “We do tend to see increases in children because they’re the school-aged children, and in the northern hemisphere it’s the autumn already. We’re entering the winter months.”
(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Miral Fahmy)
