Massachusetts has become the second US state to report a large increase in the number of childhood pneumonia cases amid a mysterious virus outbreak in China.
Doctors in the Bay State noticed an increase in cases when Ohio reported enough cases to meet the state’s definition of an outbreak.
But physicians in western Massachusetts believe it’s mostly RSV, a respiratory virus that kills more than 10,000 Americans each year – mostly young children and the elderly.
“This is the season for RSV and we’re seeing a lot of things … a lot of kids with viral upper respiratory infections, coughs, runny noses, some fevers,” Dr. John Kelly of Redwood Pediatrics in East Longmeadow told Western Mass News.
“And the thinking with RSV is that it can cause lower viral respiratory infections, so it spreads to your lungs.”
He says most patients get better in a few days, but warns, “There is no medicine to give to cure [it].
“When you have it, [it] is all supportive care.”
REUTERS Doctors in western Massachusetts say they are seeing “many” cases of childhood pneumonia. WGGB
In Ohio, the Warren County Health District recorded 142 cases of pneumonia in children since August – above the county average.
However, officials do not think it is a new respiratory illness, but “rather a large increase in the number of pneumonia cases that are usually seen at one time,” according to a press release.
The disease has spread to several school districts and the average age of those who have become ill is 8 years old, the local health district said.
“The information is shared so that individuals are aware of diseases in the community and take the necessary steps to protect their health,” the health district said.
“It’s not unusual for respiratory illnesses to spread in the community at this time of year.”
Federal officials also said they do not currently believe there is a link between the pneumonia cases across the United States and the mysterious illness affecting China.
Doctors say the main cause is RSV, a respiratory virus that kills more than 10,000 Americans each year – mostly young children and the elderly. Toronto Star via Getty Images
“We’re seeing about the same number and type of pneumonia cases in children and adults as we typically see this year,” Centers for Disease Control spokesman David Daigle said in a statement to the Post.
“We will continue to closely monitor pneumonia and other respiratory infections and work with local health officials to ensure communities have the tools they need to respond,” he said.
The US outbreak comes as cases of pneumonia in children unexpectedly surge in the Netherlands at an alarming rate.
Warren County, Ohio, has recorded 142 cases of pneumonia in children since August – above the county average. Penn State Health
Last week, 80 out of every 100,000 children in the Netherlands between the ages of 5 and 15 were treated for pneumonia, the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research reported.
Cases of pneumonia among children aged 4 and under also increased, jumping from 124 to 145 per 100,000.
This is the largest pneumonia outbreak recorded by the Utrecht-based research institute in recent years.
By comparison, at the peak of the flu season in 2022, there will be 60 cases recorded for every 100,000 children aged 5 to 15 years.
The US cases come amid a mysterious childhood pneumonia outbreak in China. AP hospitals in the Communist country are increasingly overcrowded, and schools in Beijing have suspended classes. Robert Miller
But it remains unclear whether any of these outbreaks are related to the mysterious childhood pneumonia outbreak in China, where hospitals have become overcrowded and have long waiting times, with the return of masks and protective clothing.
Some schools in Beijing have also suspended classes due to high infection rates, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The World Health Organization has issued an official information request, which seeks “additional epidemiological and clinical information, as well as laboratory results” from China, the WSJ reported.
The request itself is routine, but the WSJ said it is “relatively rare” for a United Nations agency to do so publicly.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
