Chinese health authorities have not detected any unusual or new pathogens behind a surge in pneumonia among children, the World Health Organisation has said.
The WHO had asked China for more information after hospitals became “overwhelmed with sick children” in Beijing and Liaoning – 500 miles northeast – with symptoms including a high fever and inflammation of the lungs.
In a statement released on Thursday night, the WHO said that the increase in respiratory illnesses was due to “multiple known pathogens”, easing fears over a possible new pandemic.
“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 health agency said it had held a teleconference with Chinese health officials on Thursday, during which it provided data showing that the increase in hospital admissions was caused by bacterial infection, RSV, influenza and common cold.
It added that Chinese officials said the spike in patients had not overloaded the country’s hospitals.
An alert was issued to scientists on Wednesday through ProMed – a large surveillance database which monitors disease outbreaks– warning of an epidemic of “undiagnosed pneumonia” in children.
It followed local media reports which showed hospitals crowded with parents and children awaiting checks. Photos posted on social media showed children doing homework while receiving intravenous drips in hospital.
The Covid-19 outbreak was initially flagged up to global scientists in late December 2019 via a ProMed alert in late December, which had similarly warned of a respiratory illness sweeping through the city of Wuhan.
Both China and the WHO faced criticism over the transparency of reporting on the earliest Covid-19 cases that emerged in the central city of Wuhan in December 2019.
At a press conference last week, China’s National Health Commission said there had been a rise in several respiratory diseases including flu, Covid and mycoplasma pneumoniae, also known as “walking pneumonia”.
Symptoms include sore throat, fatigue and a slowly worsening cough that can last for weeks or months.
The WHO urged the Chinese public to follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness, such as vaccination, keeping distance from sick people and staying at home when ill.
Dr. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, doubted the wave of infections was sparked by a new disease.
“If it was (a new disease), I would expect to see many more infections in adults,” he said in a statement. “The few infections reported in adults suggest existing immunity from a prior exposure.”
