WHO asks China for more details on outbreaks of respiratory illness
BEIJING: The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked China for more data on respiratory illnesses spreading in the north of the country, urging people to take steps to reduce the risk of infection.
Northern China has seen an increase in “influenza-like illness” since mid-October when compared with the same period in the previous three years, the WHO said. Clusters of pneumonia in children have been reported.
“WHO has made an official request to China for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children,” the UN health body said in a statement on Wednesday (Nov 22).
China’s National Health Commission told reporters last week that the respiratory illness spike was due to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens, namely influenza and common bacterial infections that affect children, including mycoplasma pneumonia.
The Chinese capital of Beijing, located in the north of the country, is currently experiencing a cold snap, with temperatures expected to plummet to well below zero by Friday, state media said.
Temperatures plummeted as the city “entered a high incidence season of respiratory infectious diseases”, Wang Quanyi, deputy director and chief epidemiological expert at the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told state media on Wednesday.
Beijing “is currently showing a trend of multiple pathogens coexisting”, he added.
CHILDREN ILL WITH PNEUMONIA
At Beijing’s Capital Institute of Pediatrics’ Children’s Hospital on Thursday, AFP journalists saw crowds of parents and children dressed in winter clothes.
A parent surnamed Zhang accompanied her coughing nine-year-old son and said he had fallen ill with pneumonia.
“There are really a lot of children who have caught it recently,” she said.
Li Meiling, 42, had brought her eight-year-old daughter, who was suffering from mycoplasma pneumonia – a pathogen that can cause sore throats, fatigue and fever.
“It’s true that a lot of children her age are ill with this at the moment,” she told AFP.
But she said she was “not particularly worried” about the WHO announcement.
“It’s winter, so it’s normal that there are more cases of respiratory illnesses. It’s due to the season.”
On Nov 21, the media and public disease surveillance system ProMED reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China.
The WHO said it was unclear if ProMED’s report was related to the authorities’ press conference and that it was seeking clarification.
It has also requested additional information on “recent trends in the circulation of known pathogens, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV affecting infants and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, as well as on the degree of overcrowding in the health system”, the statement added.
WHO said while it seeks additional information, it recommends that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness.
These include vaccination, keeping their distance from people who are ill, staying home when ill, getting tested and medical care as needed, wearing masks as appropriate, ensuring good ventilation and regular hand-washing.
The WHO gave no indication of China’s response to the request for more information.
China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment from AFP on Thursday.
