China’s Surge in Mysterious Pneumonia Cases: Impact on Children and Healthcare System

Jakarta –

China is currently grappling with a surge in ‘mysterious’ pneumonia cases, which mostly attack children. Several hospitals in China are even reported to be overwhelmed because they are dealing with an increasing number of pediatric patients.

The disease is believed to be caused by an increase in mycoplasma pneumonia, and has not been reported to cause death or severe illness. However, this outbreak still puts great pressure on China’s healthcare system due to existing limitations.

China’s worrying capacity shortages in hospitals, as well as other vulnerabilities, were first brought to light at the height of the country’s fight against the spread of COVID-19 infections, after Beijing lifted Zero COVID rules last December.

Tianjin Children’s Hospital, located in a large port city near Beijing, on November 18 reported a daily record of 13,171 young patients across its outpatient and emergency departments.

Not only that, Chinese news agency Caixin reported on Thursday that Jingdu Children’s Hospital in Beijing was also feeling the burden, with 300 beds at 90 percent capacity due to the large number of outpatients.

Long queues, both inside and outside hospitals, illustrate the great need for health services. Videos also circulated showing long queues at Tianjin Children’s Hospital and Shenyang Children’s Hospital, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, reflecting the severity of the situation.

The director of Beijing Children’s Hospital, Li Yuchuan, said the hospital’s internal medicine department sees more than 7,000 patients every day.

“This spike was caused by an extremely severe year in cases of mycoplasma pneumoniae infections, which put great pressure on medical resources,” according to Sun Yuan, president of Beijing Jingdu Children’s Hospital.

“Doctors have been working overtime, and all medical resources have been used to meet patient demand, but it may still not be enough,” he said as quoted by Newsweek, Sunday (26/11/2023).

On the other hand, Li Tong, head of the department of respiratory and infectious diseases at Beijing Youan Hospital, said the surge may be related to the weakened immune system in children due to three years of zero COVID restrictions, which limited their exposure to seasonal infections. and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

So many children were exposed, one hospital in Beijing announced it needed to wait 24 hours for the pediatric emergency unit. As a result, quite a few frustrated Chinese citizens talk about very long waiting times to receive medical treatment.

“I feel like I’m going to die suddenly,” said one Chinese citizen who wrote on social media after making an appointment because he had difficulty breathing, and had to wait until Friday to be seen by a doctor.

There are also parents who are frustrated because at one hospital in Beijing efforts to triage staff or determine which patients will receive treatment first have stalled. As a result, they called the police.

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2023-11-26 06:03:41
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