The World Health Organization is reportedly demanding answers from China over a pneumonia outbreak among children in the country’s north, raising questions once again about how transparent Beijing is when it comes to sharing public health data.
The WHO issued the official information request, which seeks “additional epidemiological and clinical information, as well as laboratory results,” after reports emerged Tuesday of undiagnosed pneumonia clusters, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Although the request itself is fairly routine, the outlet said it is “relatively rare” for the United Nations agency to do so publicly.
But the WHO’s apprehension is likely due to China’s poor record on data sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Journal added.
“There is no doubt that the WHO has been concerned about transparency and data communication,” a Beijing-based global health official told the newspaper.
“It also puts some pressure on the country that has been asked to cooperate.”
Over the past few weeks, Chinese health officials and state media have reported on the rise of bacterial pneumonia and other flu-like illnesses that specifically affect children, the Journal said.
The World Health Organization has requested epidemiological and clinical information on the outbreak, the Wall Street Journal said. NurPhoto via Getty Images
But Chinese authorities say the illnesses have appeared in such large numbers in part because the country lifted its tough COVID-19 controls, which had also mitigated the spread of other respiratory illnesses.
“These diseases have returned to their pre-epidemic behavior this year and the incidence level has returned to normal compared with before the epidemic,” said Tong Zhaohui, director of the Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine, during a conference. press earlier this month.
Therefore, infections such as mycoplasma pneumonia, a bacterial disease that commonly affects children, are likely to arise every few years, he added.
“Everyone should pay attention and take personal protective measures, which is the key to prevention,” Zhaohui said.
China’s National Health Commission did not respond to the Journal’s questions.
Chinese officials have acknowledged the outbreak and are advising people to avoid crowded hospitals. AP
But commission officials admitted that children’s hospitals have been inundated with sick children.
“Large hospitals are overcrowded, have long waiting times and there is a high risk of cross-infection,” representatives of the commission said during an interview with the official Xinhua news agency, before recommending that children with mild symptoms go first to your local doctor.
Some schools in Beijing have also suspended classes that recorded high infection rates, the newspaper said.
The WHO urged the Chinese government to provide more reliable and accurate data on hospitalizations and deaths during the country’s COVID outbreak in January, the Journal said.
It has also asked the Chinese capital to make public more information about other respiratory diseases that its population may be suffering from, including the flu and COVID-19.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn