Beijing: Chinese health authorities have not detected any unusual or novel pathogens, and provided the requested data on the sudden spike in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on November 23.
The WHO had sought more information from China after groups, including the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED), reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China.
The data suggests the increase is linked to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, along with the circulation of known pathogens like mycoplasma pneumoniae, a common bacterial infection that typically affects younger children and which has circulated since May in the region.
The data suggests the increase is linked to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, along with the circulation of known pathogens like mycoplasma pneumoniae, a common bacterial infection that typically affects younger children and which has circulated since May in the region.
After the WHO’s request, state-run Xinhua news agency published an article which quoted officials of China’s National Health Commission (NHC) as saying they were paying close attention to the diagnosis and care of children with respiratory illnesses.
Later on Thursday, the WHO said in a statement that China has not detected any “unusual or novel pathogens”, and that the increase in respiratory illnesses spreading in the north of the country was due to “multiple known pathogens”.
Since October, northern China has reported an “increase in influenza-like illness” compared to the same period over the past three years, the WHO said.
“Some of these increases are earlier in the season than historically experienced, but not unexpected given the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, as similarly experienced in other countries,” the statement said.
The WHO said it is “closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with national authorities in China”.
