The World Health Organization has asked China for details on an outbreak of respiratory disease and pneumonia that was reportedly undiagnosed after local media shared footage of hospitals overcrowded with children.
Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in “influenza-like illnesses” compared to the same period in the previous three years, according to the WHO.
Clusters of undiagnosed childhood pneumonia cases have also been reported in the north of the country, the WHO said in a statement on Wednesday, although it was unclear whether these were related to respiratory infections.
Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in “influenza-like illnesses,” according to the WHO. AFP via Getty Images
The WHO’s questions came from Chinese media in several cities, including Xian in the country’s northwest, which posted videos of crowded hospitals with parents and children waiting to be seen.
Some social media users have also posted pictures of children doing homework while receiving intravenous drips in hospital.
Media reports suggest a “widespread outbreak of undiagnosed respiratory diseases in several areas of China,” according to the Infectious Diseases Program of the International Association for the Monitoring of Emerging Diseases (ProMED).
Children and their parents wait in the outpatient area of a children’s hospital in Beijing on November 23, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
“It is not at all clear when this outbreak started, as it is unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly,” the body said, but reports of the illness appearing mostly in children suggested “some exposure at school.”
China maintained its so-called zero-Covid policy, marked by strict restrictions and quarantines, mass testing, and strict contact tracing, for nearly two years before abandoning it last December.
Chinese authorities attributed the surge in the disease to the lifting of these hard-line restrictions, which prevent the spread of other diseases as well as Covid, in addition to the autumn cold and the circulation of known pathogens including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and mycoplasma pneumonia.
The World Health Organization has asked China for details on an outbreak of respiratory disease and pneumonia that was reported to be undiagnosed. AFP via Getty Images WHO’s questions came from Chinese media that posted videos of crowded hospitals with parents and children waiting to be seen. AFP via Getty Images
As temperatures plunge in China’s northern capital Beijing, the city is “entering a season of high respiratory infectious diseases,” Wang Quanyi, deputy director and chief epidemiologist at the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told state media on Wednesday.
The city “currently shows a trend of multiple pathogens coexisting,” he added.
China was asked by the WHO to provide additional information about the reported outbreak, as well as laboratory results from the affected children.
The WHO urges residents to take standard measures to limit the spread of respiratory diseases, including vaccination, wearing masks, and keeping a distance from sick people. AFP via Getty Images
The organization also asked for information on whether the outbreak has burdened China’s health system, and if so, to what extent.
The WHO office in China on Thursday described the request as a “routine” inspection. Under WHO rules, China must respond within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the WHO urges residents to take standard measures to limit the spread of respiratory diseases, including vaccination, wearing a mask, washing hands regularly, keeping a distance from sick people, and staying home when sick.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
