A mysterious respiratory disease in children currently spreading in China brings back memories of the beginning of the corona pandemic: the sharp increase in pneumonia cases has left many hospitals overloaded. The World Health Organization is alarmed by what appears to be a new virus and has asked China for further information.
In mid-November, China’s National Health Commission reported an increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases during a press conference. As British newspaper The Telegraph reported, many hospitals across the country – including Beijing – are “overcrowded with sick children.”
Taiwanese news portal FTV News said hospitals in Beijing and Liaoning, nearly 500 miles northeast of the capital, were suffering from an increase in young patients with pneumonia. The emergency posts in the coastal city of Xiamen, near Taiwan, are also overcrowded. A man from Beijing told the portal: “You are not coughing and you have no symptoms. They just have a high fever and many develop lung nodules.” Entire school classes are closed. “Not only are all students sick, but the teachers are also infected with pneumonia.”
Early warning system worked: just like with Corona
Earlier this week, ProMED, a publicly available early warning surveillance system that monitors disease outbreaks in humans and animals worldwide, finally struck. A reported epidemic of “undiagnosed pneumonia” in children has been detailed. This surveillance system first drew worldwide attention to the previously unknown SARS-Cov-2 virus in December 2019.
In an editorial, ProMED stated: “This report suggests a widespread outbreak of undiagnosed pneumonia. It is not at all clear when this outbreak started, as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly. “It is still too early to say whether this could be a new pandemic.
The WHO wants more information about new pathogens
On Thursday, the WHO also responded to the apparently new disease. She would like to see additional epidemiological and clinical information from China on these reported clusters in children. Chinese authorities attribute the lifting of corona restrictions and the spread of already known pathogens. However, the World Health Organization wants to know exactly: “It is unclear whether [die gemeldeten Häufungen] “related to the overall increase in respiratory infections previously reported by Chinese authorities, or to individual events,” the WHO said.
Source: Krone
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