Hospitals in parts of China are overburdened with patients, many of them children, suffering from a developing pneumonia outbreak that has drawn comparisons to COVID-19, which first became known in China before killing some seven million people worldwide. world.
Below are some questions about the most recent outbreak in China:
It had initially been described as a mystery illness, amplifying worries that it could be a new virus as COVID-19 was. But the World Health Organisation said this week, after it had appealed to the Chinese authorities for information, that it had been informed that there had been a rise in outpatient consultations and hospital admissions of children as a result of mycoplasma pneumonia. It said this rise had happened since May—even though the reports of overloaded hospitals have only just emerged.
He also said China has reported an increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus and influenza since October. The Chinese government has told the WHO that no new pathogens have been detected or have not been detected, at least not yet.
There has been no primary increase in the number of deaths or severe hospitalizations, contrary to reports from the city of Wuhan in early 2020 after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mycoplasma pneumonia is usually mild, and some people may need hospital treatment, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U. S. RSV affects 97 percent of children under the age of two, but it can be life-threatening in very rare cases. According to the American Lung Association, both the flu and adenoviruses can kill, but they are also widespread around the world.
Suspicions have been raised both in China and by the lack of data on the emergence of COVID-19, which China has been accused of keeping secret and trying to downplay in the first place, points that may have contributed to it becoming a pandemic. In a sign of distrust, US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel called on China to be transparent about the pneumonia outbreak spreading across the country and suggested the Chinese government “abandon COVID-related hoax” .
The World Health Organization was also criticized after COVID-19 for putting too much religion on Chinese accounts and for indicating early on that it did not want to take measures that would “unnecessarily interfere with foreign trade” to prevent the spread of the virus. virus.
Respiratory disease outbreaks follow a seasonal pattern, and China is now heading into winter. The WHO said the surge in patients came before the same period of the season, but was not unforeseen given the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, such as mandatory mask-wearing. Use, travel bans and quarantines, which China has imposed on farms for longer than in most parts of the world before lifting them late last year under the pressure of popular anger and economic tensions. Strict COVID-19 measures may also have led to a relief in exposure to other diseases, which may have decreased people’s stamina, doctors said.
Mycoplasma pneumonia is called “walking pneumonia” precisely because it is usually very mild and does not require hospitalization. According to the New York State Department of Health, typical symptoms can be fever, cough, bronchitis, sore throat, headache, and fatigue.
It mostly infects older children and young adults although anyone can get it. Symptoms usually appear two to three weeks after exposure, but this can be as early as one week or as late as four. The illness caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae, a microscopic organism that is related to bacteria.
Although this does not prevent the spread of an epidemic, mycoplasma pneumonia and other diseases so reported in China are no longer unusual in many places.
The WHO said it was not recommending any express measures for anyone traveling to China. He also said he opposed any restrictions on the industry, saying his guidance was “based on information that had been obtained lately. “
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