SHANGHAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A request by the World Health Organization for more information on a surge in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children in China has attracted global attention.
The rise in respiratory illnesses comes as China braces for its first full winter season since it lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions in December last year.
The spike in illness came into the spotlight when the WHO asked China for more information last week, citing a report by the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children.
WHO China told Reuters in an email that “Chinese health authorities advised that the current numbers they are observing is not greater than the peak in the most recent cold season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Rajib Dasgupta, an epidemiologist and professor of community health at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told Reuters in some cases there may be serious complications from infection caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae, but most people will recover without antibiotics.
“The cases that we are seeing is nothing unusual at the moment, because it’s still the same cough, colds, fever presentation, and the good thing about it is that it’s actually treatable,” said Cecille Brion, head of the pediatrics department at Raffles Medical Group Beijing.
The original article contains 594 words, the summary contains 214 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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SHANGHAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A request by the World Health Organization for more information on a surge in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children in China has attracted global attention.
The rise in respiratory illnesses comes as China braces for its first full winter season since it lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions in December last year.
The spike in illness came into the spotlight when the WHO asked China for more information last week, citing a report by the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children.
WHO China told Reuters in an email that “Chinese health authorities advised that the current numbers they are observing is not greater than the peak in the most recent cold season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Rajib Dasgupta, an epidemiologist and professor of community health at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told Reuters in some cases there may be serious complications from infection caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae, but most people will recover without antibiotics.
“The cases that we are seeing is nothing unusual at the moment, because it’s still the same cough, colds, fever presentation, and the good thing about it is that it’s actually treatable,” said Cecille Brion, head of the pediatrics department at Raffles Medical Group Beijing.
The original article contains 594 words, the summary contains 214 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!