Spike in illnesses isn’t a new pathogen

An outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China has sparked alarm, but the sudden rise in sickness is not related to a new virus, according to Chinese health authorities. Instead, the rash of illnesses is being driven by familiar pathogens, including flu, RSV, Mycoplasma pneumoniae (which causes pneumonia) and, of course, COVID-19. Many of the cases involve children and are currently overwhelming hospitals.

On Nov. 22, the World Health Organization asked China for data on the diseases, which it received Thursday, according to Reuters. So far, the data suggests that there’s nothing out of the ordinary, but both the WHO and China have been criticized in the past for not being entirely transparent about the COVID-19 outbreak nearly four years ago. According to Newsweek, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, said that the outbreak raises “serious questions.” 

“It's time to abandon COVID deception and delays as transparent and timely information saves lives," Emanuel said. Bruce Thompson, head of the Melbourne School of Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne, told Reuters "At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that it may be a new variant of COVID." He added, "One thing to note is that we can be reassured that the surveillance processes are working, which is a very good thing."