Reports of an increase in pneumonia-like illnesses that mainly affect children in northern China have raised concerns. The last time we heard about a mysterious respiratory illness outbreak causing hospitals to collapse was at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, so it’s no surprise that this caused some panic.
On November 22, the World Health Organization asked China to provide information about the epidemic. Chinese health authorities later said it was caused by a range of respiratory pathogens.
What are the viruses and bacteria that cause respiratory illness to rebound? Should we be worried about the possibility of a pandemic? let’s see.
Mycoplasma
Bacteria of this genus Mycoplasma Since June this year, respiratory diseases have broken out in our country.
he Mycoplasma It is usually treated with antibiotics and rarely requires hospitalization. It can cause a phenomenon called “walking pneumonia,” in which a chest X-ray shows a condition that is much worse than the patient looks.
However, in Taiwan, reports indicate that bacteria are highly resistant to antibiotics. Mycoplasmawhich may explain why it leads to more hospitalizations.
Read more: Powerful new reasons to use antibiotics responsibly
influenza
In the first two years of the pandemic, flu rates dropped to very low levels due to mask-wearing, social distancing and other measures. But once things start to return to “normal,” infections tend to rebound.
Influenza is more severe in children under five and in the elderly, and may result in hospitalization in children under five.
RSV and adenovirus
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can also have serious effects on children and, like influenza, all but disappeared during the first two years of the pandemic. But now it’s widely circulated.
Adenovirus can cause a variety of syndromes, including gastroenteritis and influenza-like illness, and is one of the causes of the current outbreak in China.There are reports and photos of children vomiting receiving intravenous fluidspossibly dehydration caused by gastroenteritis.
The role of coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can cause pneumonia but has less of an impact on children. At the beginning of the pandemic, we knew that this pathogen could cause pneumonia in asymptomatic children, so COVID-19 could also cause walking pneumonia in young children.
SARS-CoV-2 kills more children than the flu, so it could overwhelm hospitals.
Some studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may also cause immune dysfunction after infection, which could explain unexpected increases in other infections, including strep and yeast infections. Mycoplasmasince the epidemic.
co-infection
People can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and other bacteria or viruses at the same time, which may also explain the severity of the current epidemic.One study showed that co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and Mycoplasma This condition is common and can lead to more serious complications.
Read more: Here’s how the first approved syncytial virus vaccine for older adults works
Could this be a new epidemic?
The chart below shows reports of unidentified influenza-like illness and pneumonia outbreaks, as well as cases with known causes: influenza A and B, SARS-CoV-2, RSV, pertussis, adenovirus, and Mycoplasma. It is confirmed that respiratory diseases have increased in China this year compared with the same period last year.
Conversely, the same comparison globally shows a decrease this year compared to last year, which tells us that China does have more respiratory illnesses than expected.
If no known cause of this increase is identified, that would cause us greater concern. But a few viruses have been discovered that lead us to believe we are not facing a new virus.
The virus with pandemic potential that worries us most is avian influenza, which can mutate and spread easily to humans. China has been the epicenter of bird flu in the past, but the spread of H5N1 has moved to the Americas, Europe and Africa.
Despite this, China has reported multiple cases of human infection with various avian influenza viruses this year, including H3N8, H5N1, H5N6 and H9N2. As large-scale outbreaks in birds and mammals continue, there is a greater likelihood that mutations will occur and genetic material from avian and human influenza will mix, potentially resulting in new pandemic influenza viruses.
Read more: How the H5N1 bird flu virus became a pandemic
The threat from new viruses is increasing, and pandemic potential is greatest for those that spread through the respiratory tract and are severe enough to cause pneumonia. There is no indication that the current situation in China is a new pandemic, but we must always recognize and pay attention to the surge in undiagnosed pneumonia cases. Early warning systems give us the best chance of preventing the next pandemic.