The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially called upon Beijing for comprehensive information regarding a puzzling pneumonia outbreak in northern China, primarily impacting children. The request was made in response to a surge in respiratory illnesses and reported pneumonia clusters among children, as disclosed in a statement by the United Nations health agency on Wednesday.
China has witnessed an uptick in cases of influenza-like illnesses, deviating from the strict measures implemented during its previous three-year zero-COVID strategy. The WHO highlighted that the sudden abandonment of this policy in December 2022 contributed to the surge. China’s National Health Commission attributed the rise in respiratory diseases to the lifting of COVID-19 measures and the spread of various pathogens, including COVID-19, influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae (a common bacterial infection affecting younger children), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Earlier this week, ProMED, an online medical community known for raising concerns about the unknown illness in Wuhan that later became COVID-19, reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia among children in northern China. FTV News, a Taiwanese outlet, described children’s hospitals in Beijing and other northern regions as “overwhelmed with sick children,” prompting concerns of a potential epidemic cover-up.
The WHO emphasized the need for more definitive information on the “concerning illness” and acknowledged the uncertainty regarding a link between the northern China outbreak and the overall increase in respiratory infections reported by Chinese authorities. The organization formally requested additional epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory information through the International Health Regulations mechanism, seeking details on trends in known pathogens’ circulation.
Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, part of the WHO’s emergency program, underscored the importance of gathering more information about symptoms, epidemiology, and testing, given the uncertainties surrounding the illness. The WHO advised people in China to take precautionary measures, including updating vaccinations, maintaining social distance, wearing masks when necessary, and staying home when sick. Testing was also emphasized.
The origins of the COVID-19 virus, first reported as unexplained pneumonia in late 2019, remain unclear. The WHO declared a pandemic in March 2020, expressing deep concern about the rapid spread and severity of the virus and the alarming levels of inaction. Despite a WHO team visiting Wuhan in early 2021 to investigate the outbreak, the origins of the virus remain elusive. Source – Aljazeera
