WHO concerned about outbreak of respiratory diseases in China

From our correspondent in Beijing,

With the return of pneumonia, bronchitis and other winter ailments, the corridors of Ritan Children’s Hospital in central Beijing are starting to cough again. Masks and down jacket collars pulled up to the eyes, the compact crowd waits patiently at the ticket counters in the entrance hall.

A grandmother came for her grandson. White plastic bag under the arm containing the latter’s lung x-ray, she is not reassured: “Actually, everyone here has a cold, she says. In Beijing, we all have colds! »

Mycoplasma pneumonia wave

Since mid-October, hospitals in northern China have reported a sharp increase in flu-like illnesses, particularly among children.

Some speak of a “ debt of immunity » linked to three years where China remained under cover during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Due to protective measures such as wearing masks, frequent hand washing and home isolation, the respiratory system has been less exposed to pathogens », says Doctor Wen Danning, in comments reported by Caixin.

The number of infections among young children is increasing: “Collective immune function may have declined, especially in children under three years of age, who may have worn masks since birth, with a respiratory system that lacks exercise and needs to gradually catch up”adds the director of the department of infectious diseases at Jin Yin Tan Hospital in the city of Wuhan.

This wave of pneumonia mycoplasma pneumoniae has triggered the commotion within the municipal health commissions: northern China is not the only one concerned. “The provinces of Shaanxi (North West)Jiangsu (East)Hubei (Center)Guangdong (South East) and other regions issued reminders for the prevention and treatment of pneumonia”noted THE People’s Daily.

The main megacities have convened their experts. “Mycoplasma pneumonia exists in nature, but due to the Covid-19 epidemicwe, who are used to wearing masks and staying at home, have lost our resistance to many germs », underlines Yu Huijiu in an interview given to several media. A sign of the seriousness of the epidemic, this professor of medicine in the infection department of Xinhua Hospital in Shanghai, confides that this is the first time that she has met patients over 30 years old with mycoplasma pneumonia.

Increase in adult patients

The number of adult patients with the disease has increased significantly, also notes Sun Minghuan cited by the Taizhou Evening News. “ Mycoplasma pneumonia in adults is accompanied by fever and cough as the main clinical manifestations, which may be accompanied by headache, runny nose and sore throat. », specifies this doctor at the department of infectious pulmonary diseases at the Ningbo Traditional Medicine Hospital.

“In case of fever and severe cough, you should consult”, affirm the posters which have appeared in certain residences. This message is linked on China Central Television where, again, the white coats warn that the disease is contagious and that it is transmitted by close contact via respiratory droplets, especially in densely populated and poorly ventilated places.

With an incubation period after exposure of two or three weeks, pathogen carriers and carriers can accelerate its transmission, especially in schools or kindergartens. The peak could therefore occur next month during the school holidays. But don’t panic: the Chinese health authorities are increasing the number of messages intended to reassure minds still very marked by the Covid-19 years.

This would only be a matter of catching up, a return to the pre-pandemic situation, Zhaohui Tong said at a press conference on Wednesday: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, due to strict health measures, diseases such as mycoplasma pneumonia and other respiratory infections have declined compared to previous years, explained the director of the respiratory disease research center in Beijing. With the normalization of prevention and control measures, these diseases are returning to their pre-pandemic level. “.

Crowded infusion rooms

A reassuring speech which does not prevent bacteria and viruses from circulating, with an explosion of infections described as “ fierce » by certain doctors, particularly on the eastern coast. At Hangzhou Number One People’s Hospital, 1,900 patients showed up at the pediatric ward this weekend, reports the QHangzhou daily. The Yuying Children’s Hospital, for its part, recorded 2,000 patients per day, according to Wenzhou News.

Result: in several provinces and regions, classes were urgently suspended in schools. This is particularly the case in the eastern province of Zhejiang where social networks have shown long queues in front of neighborhood community centers in recent days. Images that recall the painful memories of years of confinement.

The symptoms of mycoplasma pneumonia resemble those of the flu or Covid-19, which is also expected to reach a new peak soon, according to pulmonologist Zhong Nanshan.

Vaccines can’t do anything about it

But unlike viral pneumonia, vaccines can do nothing against mycoplasma pneumonia treated with antibiotics. Which explains why at Rita Children’s Hospital, as in many hospitals in northern China, the infusion rooms are overflowing. This Thursday in Beijing, everyone waited their turn in peace before receiving their treatment.

Due to a lack of sufficient space inside, some received their injection for almost an hour, with a catheter in their arm, sitting on small chairs, in strollers, camping carts transformed into prams, or even squatting in the corridors. Upon leaving, a mother was relieved:

“My son only has a cold according to the doctor,” launch the latter before going to face the freezing wind of late November on the anonymous boulevards of the Chinese capital. Faces have been swallowed up in recent days by white N95 masks which are also making a comeback in Beijing.