The World Health Organization has asked China for more data on a mysterious pneumonia illness spreading in the country’s north. The UN health body warned that the situation was concerning and urged the Chinese to reduce the risk of infection, including practicing good hygiene, seeking medical attention for respiratory symptoms, and staying updated about the outbreak.
“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 WHO said on Wednesday. It added that the outbreak could be a new strain of influenza, a respiratory pathogen like mycoplasma pneumonia, walking pneumonia, or another virus such as the COVID-19 coronavirus.
An alert on ProMed, a large surveillance system that monitors disease outbreaks, prompted the request from the WHO. It cited a report from Taiwanese news outlet FTV News that children’s hospitals in Beijing and Liaoning, 500 miles northeast, were being overwhelmed by a wave of sick kids showing symptoms of a high fever, cough, inflammation of the lungs, and sometimes pulmonary nodules.
A post on the website of epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Dingh backed up the ProMed alert, sharing videos and messages from locals that show crowded hospitals in multiple cities in northern China. Some schools have been closed due to the illness. Feigl-Dingh writes that the situation is eerily similar to early reports of a mystery COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019.
The WHO urged the Chinese to practice good hygiene, seek medical attention for respiratory symptoms, and stay informed about the outbreak. The agency also reminded people that this is a typical time of year to see increased cases of seasonal illnesses, such as flu and mycoplasma pneumonia, and that lifting COVID-19 restrictions a year ago may have contributed to the increase. But Osterholm notes that even without the restrictions, it’s likely that many Chinese will still have a low immunity from last year’s three-peat of respiratory infections, which he says could make this season more difficult to navigate.
Amid the ongoing uncertainty, some experts have ruled out a novel coronavirus as the cause of the outbreak, saying that initial tests on the kids have not shown evidence of this. However, other experts have cautioned that the results are preliminary and that further testing is needed. A team of scientists from across the globe is working to identify the culprit. “This is a very worrying outbreak because it could be caused by any of a number of respiratory pathogens,” one expert tells the BBC. “We need to understand which pathogen is responsible in order to control the outbreak.” The WHO says it expects more detailed information from China by November 28. Until then, the agency has maintained its public health alert level of 4.
