The global outbreak surveillance system ProMED recently warned of an epidemic of new “undiagnosed pneumonia” in children. A respiratory disease unknown to scientists is now rapidly spreading in China. Media reports of hospitals overflowing with sick children across the country.
About the serious influx of young patients in Chinese hospitals reported British publication The Telegraph, citing the Taiwanese television channel FTV News. According to local media, the number of influenza-like illnesses has increased sharply in the northern regions of China since mid-October, and now hospitals are simply overcrowded. And if initially the Chinese authorities attributed the increase in the number of cases to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the spread of pathogens such as influenza and bacterial infections, now experts suspect that we are talking about some new “undiagnosed” respiratory disease.
In local media reports, people said that the sick “do not cough or have any other symptoms“. The clinical manifestations of this unknown disease, which appears to primarily affect children, are heat (fever), as well as lung damage.
The seriousness of the situation was pointed out by the editors of ProMed – they were the ones who, in December 2019, drew the attention of doctors and scientists, including senior officials of the World Health Organization (WHO), to the infamous coronavirus, later called Sars-Cov-2.
ProMED is a specialized Emerging Disease Surveillance Program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID). It was launched in 1994 as an Internet service to identify unusual phenomena associated with new and rapidly spreading infectious diseases and toxins affecting people, animals and plants. Still remains the largest publicly available system for global monitoring of infectious disease outbreaks.
WHO officials did not ignore the current ProMED message. The organization has already made request to Beijing for details of new “undiagnosed pneumonia” and laboratory results, as well as recent trends in the spread of other known pathogens, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and mycoplasma pneumonia, and current caseload on the country’s healthcare system.
WHO recommended that residents of China follow “measures to reduce the risk of respiratory diseases”:
- get vaccinated;
- keep your distance from sick people;
- stay home if there are signs of illness;
- get tested and receive medical care as needed;
- wear protective masks as needed;
- regularly ventilate the premises;
- Wash your hands regularly.
Telegraf previously reported that the chief state sanitary doctor of Belarus, Alexander Tarasenko, said on June 20 that he expected an increase in the incidence of influenza in January-February 2024. Moreover, it will be higher than last winter.
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