Cases of pneumonia among children are on the rise in a number of European countries.
As China is battling a concerning spike in infections, both the Netherlands and Denmark reported an uptick in the cases recorded.
In the Netherlands, the number of youngsters aged between five and 14 diagnosed with pneumonia has risen to 130 every 100,000 children in the week leading up to November 26, according to the country’s Institute for Health Services Research. Last year, the highest number recorded was 58.
Young people aged between 15 and 24 also appear to be getting ill in larger numbers than in previous years, the institute reported.
Similarly, Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut (SSI) also reported an increasing number of Danes affected by pneumonia. Within five weeks, cases rose from 168 to 541.
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It isn’t known whether the uptick in respiratory diseases in China is linked to the rise of cases in Europan countries.
India, Taiwan and Vietnam have on the other hand started taking preventative measures to avoid their healthcare systems becoming overwhelmed with patients affected by respiratory diseases.
In late November, a news report by FTV News claimed hospitals in northern China were “overwhelmed with sick children”.
Mr Wei, a Beijing citizen, told the news outlet: “Many, many are hospitalised. They don’t cough and have no symptoms. They just have a high temperature (fever) and many develop pulmonary nodules.”
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Chinese health authorities believes the spike could be linked to an overlap of known pathogens rather than the emergence of novel viruses.
China’s health ministry said to have noticed more cases of viruses such as influenza, rhinoviruses, RSV and the adenovirus, as well as a spike of diseases linked to bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae.
This type of pneumoniae, also known as walking pneumonia, commonly affects children, and has been circulating since May, the ministry claimed.
Walking pneumonia presents milder symptoms that appear more gradually than in other types of more serious pneumonia. They may include cough, fever, sore throat, headache, ear pain and chest pain from coughing.
The spike in cases of respiratory diseases in China may be attributed to a cold snap and the fact the country is entering its first winter without COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an official request to China for additional information regarding trends in the circulation of known pathogens, how the rise of cases has been burdening the healthcare system and the laboratory results from the reported outbreaks among youngsters.
The organisation is now trying to quash concerns the world may be facing yet another new disease, much as it happened with coronavirus in 2020.
Speaking about the cases in China, Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, said: “We asked about comparisons prior to the pandemic. And the waves that they’re seeing now, the peak is not as high as what they saw in 2018-2019. This is not an indication of a novel pathogen. This is expected. This is what most countries dealt with a year or two ago.”
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