What do we know about China’s respiratory illness surge?
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[December 01, 2023]
By Andrew Silver
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A request by the World Health Organization for more
information on a surge in respiratory illnesses and clusters of
pneumonia in children in China has attracted global attention.
Health authorities have not detected any unusual or novel pathogens, the
WHO later said, and doctors and public health researchers say there is
no evidence for international alarm.
Authorities in Taiwan, however, this week advised the elderly, very
young and those with poor immunity to avoid travel to China.
The following is what we know about the surge in illness in the world's
second most populous country so far, and why experts think there is no
need to panic.
WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND?
The rise in respiratory illnesses comes as China braces for its first
full winter season since it lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions in
December last year.
The spike in illness came into the spotlight when the WHO asked China
for more information last week, citing a report by the Program for
Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) on clusters of undiagnosed
pneumonia in children.
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Some social media users have also posted photos of children receiving
intravenous drips in hospital, while media in cities such as Xian in the
northwest have posted videos of crowded hospitals, fanning concerns
potential strains on the healthcare system.
HOW BIG IS THE SURGE?
The National Health Commission told a news conference on Nov. 13 that
there was an increase in incidence of respiratory disease without
providing further details.
WHO China told Reuters in an email 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 the increase is linked to the lifting of COVID-19
restrictions along with the circulation of known pathogens such as
mycoplasma pneumoniae, a common bacterial infection that typically
affects younger children and which has circulated since May.
Influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus have been in
circulation since October.
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![](../images/120123PIX/health20.jpg)
People wait for their rides outside a children's hospital in
Beijing, China November 24, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo /File photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Dec/01/images/ads/current/fcs_funeral_lda_border_04029022.png) IS MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIAE A BIG
WORRY?
One concern about the surge in respiratory illness is mycoplasma
pneumoniae, which has also spiked in other countries.
Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead at the World Health
Organization told reporters on Wednesday that mycoplasma pneumonia
is not a reportable disease to the WHO, and it was on the rise for
the last couple of months but now appears to be declining.
"We're following up through our clinical networks and working with
clinicians in China to better understand resistance to antibiotics,
which is a problem across the world, but is a particular problem in
the Western Pacific and South East Asia region," she said.
Rajib Dasgupta, an epidemiologist and professor of community health
at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told Reuters in some
cases there may be serious complications from infection caused by
mycoplasma pneumoniae, but most people will recover without
antibiotics.
WHY EXPERTS AREN'T CONCERNED?
Doctors in China and experts abroad are not too worried about the
situation in China, noting many other countries saw similar
increases in respiratory diseases after easing pandemic measures.
"The cases that we are seeing is 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 said that the rise in cases was expected.
"We are seeing, in general, an increase in respiratory infections
around the world. 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," she
said.
(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Miral Fahmy)
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