China’s mysterious childhood pneumonia: What we know about the outbreak WHO worries nnda nnlt | Answers

As several hospitals in China close due to a mysterious childhood pneumonia, World Health Organization (WHO) They light up; this is not surprising since the disease has spread through schools in this Asian country and has resulted in many hospitalized minors being affected. We tell you everything we know about this outbreak, given the concerns it raises.

It is worth noting that on November 13, China’s National Health Commission reported an increase in respiratory diseases at a press conference.

Mysterious childhood pneumonia in China

According to a report from the Program for Surveillance of Emerging Diseases (ProMED) on November 19, 2023, Clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia cases in children have emerged in northern China, especially in Beijing and Liaoning cities800 kilometers apart.

This has led to increased absenteeism in schools; in fact, schools have been closed for a week when students are known to be sick. Among other things, winter could exacerbate the spread of the disease, Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu reported from Beijing.

As far as he is concerned, Francois Belloux, Director of the Institute of Genetics at University College London The outlook for “undiagnosed pneumonia in Chinese children” was explained. “I am aware that no new evidence has emerged that would require me to update””, he wrote on his X account on November 22, 2023.

Experts mentioned China will pay “Immunity debt” After confinement “This certainly reduces the circulation of respiratory bacteria and therefore reduces immunity to endemic bacteria”.

Likewise, he said that based on the data he manages, ““There is no reason to suspect the emergence of new pathogens.”so he points out that Mycoplasma pneumoniae will be the source of most cases and is a bacterium that typically affects young children, itself “Quite harmless”.

Laith Abu-Raddad, a professor of health policy and research at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, believes that although new pathogens are possible, the outbreak may also be caused by “An existing but recently mutated pathogen whose characteristics and severity have changed”specify the (ProMED) report.

What symptoms do children in China have?

Unusual symptoms of mysterious childhood pneumonia include lung inflammation and high fever, but no cough or other flu-related symptoms.

Therefore, the World Health Organization requires the public to take protective measures to prevent more minors from being infected.