Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
03-12-2023
BEIJING/ SHANGHAI/ SHENZHEN: China’s surge in respiratory illness is caused by known pathogens and there is no sign of new infectious diseases, a health official said on Saturday as the country faces its first full winter since lifting strict COVID-19 restrictions.
The spike in illness in the country where COVID emerged in late 2019 attracted the spotlight when the World Health Organization sought information last week, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children.
Chinese authorities will open more paediatric outpatient clinics, seek to ensure more elderly people and children receive flu vaccines and encourage people to wear masks and wash their hands, Mi Feng, an official with China’s National Health Commission, told a press conference.
Doctors in China and experts abroad have not expressed alarm about China’s outbreaks, given that many other countries saw similar increases in respiratory diseases after easing pandemic measures, which China did at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, 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.
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.
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.
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”.
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. (Int’l News Desk)
