Original title: Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection shows a trend among younger people this year
China Youth Daily, Beijing, November 13 (China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Liu Changrong) This afternoon, the National Health and Medical Commission held a press conference on the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases that have recently been highly prevalent. Director of the Beijing Institute of Respiratory Diseases Tong Zhaohui introduced the characteristics of this year’s Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection at the meeting: “Compared with previous years, children under 3 years old are also infected in this year’s epidemic, showing a trend of younger age, but the condition is not significantly worse.”
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is the most important pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia in children aged 5 and above in my country. It is prevalent in autumn and winter in northern areas and in summer and autumn in southern areas. The clinical manifestations after infection are mainly fever and cough.
Regarding the reasons why children are susceptible to Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, Wang Quan, chief physician at Beijing Children’s Hospital, explained that children’s immune systems are not fully developed, their respiratory ciliary movement function is poor, and their immunoglobulin levels are also low. In addition, Mycoplasma pneumoniae itself is highly transmissible. It can be spread through respiratory droplets or close contact, so it will spread quickly in places with a high concentration of children, such as schools and kindergartens. Moreover, the incubation period of mycoplasma infection is relatively long, usually 1-4 weeks, with an average of about 3 weeks. Both the carriers of the pathogen and the sick people are contagious, resulting in many children being “infected”.
At present, my country has entered the influenza epidemic season. How to distinguish whether the infection is influenza or Mycoplasma pneumoniae? Tong Zhaohui responded that flu patients have more obvious symptoms such as high fever, rapid disease progression, fatigue, headache, and muscle aches. Some patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection also have high fever, but the disease progression is often slower than that of influenza. Persistent paroxysmal dry cough is a typical clinical manifestation of mycoplasma pneumonia, often accompanied by obvious sore throat, occasionally chest pain, and blood in sputum. Most of these pneumonias have a good prognosis.
When they suspected that their children were infected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae, many parents followed the advice on the Internet and gave their children azithromycin on their own. In this regard, Wang Quan said that this approach is not recommended. Currently is the season of high incidence of respiratory diseases in children. In addition to Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, there are also influenza viruses, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, respiratory syncytial viruses, etc. These viruses are still the most common pathogens of respiratory infections in children, and “azithromycin is effective against viral infections.” it is invalid”. Wang Quan also said: “Children’s organ functions are not fully developed, and drug abuse may cause some adverse reactions, especially organ damage. Azithromycin is a prescription drug and should be used under the guidance of a doctor or pharmacist.”
“There is currently no vaccine that can specifically prevent Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.” Tong Zhaohui said that prevention methods include washing hands frequently and developing good respiratory hygiene habits.
2023-11-15 02:53:00
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