Mysterious childhood illnesses sweeping through China are not thought to be a new dangerous virus, the World Health Organization has said.
The WHO asked Chinese authorities for more information on the epidemic this week after hundreds of young people were admitted to hospital with acute respiratory symptoms since October.
The UK Health Security Agency said it was keeping an "open mind" about the outbreak and was monitoring any potential threat to the UK.
On Tuesday, a worldwide alert was issued about the upsurge in respiratory disease.
The alert, issued by ProMed, was similar language to that used when cases of coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan in December 2019.
However, an initial assessment by the WHO on Thursday said it was likely the illnesses were caused by a bacterial infection, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, or known viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus or Covid.
“Efforts should be made to increase the opening of relevant clinics and treatment areas, extend service hours and increase the supply of medicines,” said Chinese ministry spokesman Mi Feng said.
He advised people to wear masks and called on local authorities to focus on preventing the spread of illnesses in crowded places such as schools and nursing homes.
The outbreaks have swamped hospitals in northern China, including Beijing. Health authorities have asked the public to take children with less severe symptoms to clinics and other facilities.
WHO said that there was too little information at the moment to properly assess the risk of these reported cases of respiratory illness in children.
Both Chinese authorities and WHO have been accused of a lack of transparency in their initial reports on the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.
