China and South Korea have separately reported an increase in cases of mycoplasma pneumonia. In South Korea, the cases have doubled in children during November, while in China clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in its children and adults have been found around the country. China has been prompted to respond by the World Health Organization (WHO) which has requested the information about its spike in respiratory hospitalizations. The outbreak is concerning, with sick children overwhelming Chinese hospitals.
The Chinese Communist Party’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Beijing Children’s Hospital have been involved in conference calls with WHO regarding the situation. They have responded by saying that no “unusual or new pathogens” have been found in various regions, including Beijing and Liaoning Province, and no abnormal clinical manifestations have been discovered. The Chinese officials acknowledged an increase in respiratory diseases but claimed it is caused by known pathogens.
Reports from the global public health surveillance system have indicated a possible unknown pathogen causing an outbreak. So far, Chinese authorities have claimed that various pathogens such as the influenza virus, RSV, SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19, and the mycoplasma pneumonia virus are responsible for the mixed respiratory infections across the country.
Regarding the WHO’s response, it has stated that the increases may be earlier in the season than historically experienced, but not unexpected given the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Mycoplasma infections have been seen in cyclical epidemics every three to four years, with previous upticks in 2011, 2015, and 2019. The infections typically don’t require hospitalization, although historically, young children with weak immune systems have been prone to developing more severe symptoms from the disease.
The impact of the severe pneumonia has been widespread and has affected children, adults, and even resulted in an increase in time missed from work for teachers and parents. However, the Chinese Communist Party continues to plan for higher influenza and mycoplasma pneumonia incidents and insists on normalizing social activities and travel.
This is not limited to China and has also been reported to other countries, such as South Korea and France, where it has also been seen most significantly in young children under the age of 5. Moreover, in Japan, the government has implemented additional measures for travelers arriving from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, and Myanmar, as part of the plan to prevent further spread from those nations.