The World Health Organization has asked China for details about an outbreak of respiratory illnesses and reportedly undiagnosed pneumonia, after local media shared images of hospitals filled with children.
Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in “flu-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 is not clear whether they are related to respiratory infections.
Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in “flu-like illnesses,” according to the WHO. AFP via Getty Images
The WHO’s questions come from Chinese media in some cities, including Xian, in the northwest of the country, which published videos of hospitals full of parents and children waiting to be treated.
Some social media users have also posted photos of children doing their homework while receiving intravenous drips in the hospital.
Media reports suggest “a widespread outbreak of an undiagnosed respiratory disease in several areas of China,” according to the Emerging Diseases Monitoring Program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ProMED).
Children and their parents wait in an outpatient area of a children’s hospital in Beijing on November 23, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
“It is not entirely clear when this outbreak began, as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly,” the agency said, but reports of illnesses appearing predominantly in children suggest “some exposure in schools.”
China maintained a policy known as zero Covid, marked by strict lockdowns and quarantines, mass testing and rigorous contact tracing, for almost two years before abandoning it last December.
Chinese authorities attributed the rise in illnesses to the lifting of these strict restrictions, which prevented the spread of diseases other than Covid, as well as an autumn cold snap and the circulation of known pathogens, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Influenza and mycoplasma pneumonia.
The World Health Organization has asked China for details about the outbreak of respiratory illnesses and reportedly undiagnosed pneumonia. AFP via Getty Images The WHO questions come from Chinese media that published videos of hospitals full of parents and children waiting to be treated. AFP via Getty Images
As temperatures plummeted in the northern Chinese capital, Beijing, the city “entered a season of high incidence of respiratory infectious diseases,” said Wang Quanyi, deputy director and chief epidemiological expert at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. and Beijing Disease Prevention. he told state media on Wednesday.
The city “currently shows a tendency toward the coexistence of multiple pathogens,” he added.
The WHO asked China to provide additional information on reported outbreaks, as well as laboratory results from affected children.
WHO urges residents to take standard measures to limit the spread of respiratory diseases, including vaccination, wearing masks and keeping distance from sick people. AFP via Getty Images
The organization also requested information on whether the outbreaks had affected the Chinese health system and, if so, to what extent.
The WHO office in China on Thursday described the requests as a “routine” check. According to WHO rules, China must respond within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, WHO urged residents to take standard measures to limit the spread of respiratory diseases, including vaccination, wearing masks, regularly washing hands, keeping distance from sick people, and staying home when sick. .
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Source: vtt.edu.vn