GENEVA, Switzerland – The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially requested China to provide information on a potentially concerning resurgence of respiratory diseases and pneumonia cases in children.
The UN health agency cited unspecified media and a global infectious disease surveillance service that reported cases of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China. In a statement released on Wednesday evening, the WHO stated that it was uncertain whether these cases were related to the reported increase in respiratory infections by Chinese authorities.
External scientists believed the situation warranted close monitoring, but they were not convinced that the recent resurgence of respiratory illnesses in China signaled the beginning of a new worldwide epidemic.
The emergence of new strains of influenza or other viruses capable of triggering pandemics generally begins with clusters of undiagnosed respiratory illnesses. SARS and COVID-19 were first reported as unusual types of pneumonia.
The WHO noted that health authorities of the National Health Commission of China had reported an increase in respiratory diseases on November 13, attributing it to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Other countries also observed a rise in respiratory diseases such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) when pandemic restrictions were lifted.
A week later, the media reported cases of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China.
“It is not known whether these cases are associated with the overall increase in respiratory infections previously reported by Chinese authorities or if they are separate events,” the WHO said, adding that it had requested China to provide more details on the currently circulating viruses and any potential increase in hospital workload through an international legal mechanism.
Dr. David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine stated that there were probably seasonal respiratory infections occurring.
“The challenge is to identify the clusters and determine the cause,” said Dr. Heymann in a statement, adding that genetic sequencing and case isolation would be essential. He led the WHO’s response to the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic.
François Balloux of University College London added that the current wave of illnesses in China was likely due to respiratory diseases such as influenza, RSV, or a bacterial infection.
He said that China likely experienced a significant wave of childhood infections as it was the first winter since the lifting of confinement measures, probably reducing children’s immunity to common microbes.
“Unless new evidence appears, there is no reason to suspect the emergence of a new pathogen,” Mr. Balloux assured.
The WHO stated that northern China had reported an increase in flu-like illnesses since mid-October compared to the previous three years. It is rare for the United Nations health agency to publicly request more detailed information from countries, with such requests usually being made privately.
Outbreaks overwhelmed some hospitals in northern China, including in Beijing, and health authorities advised the public to take children with less severe symptoms to clinics or other facilities.
The average number of patients in the internal medicine department of the Beijing Children’s Hospital reached 7,000 per day, surpassing the hospital’s capacity, as reported by the Chinese national radio in an online article earlier this week.
In a Q&A document posted online by the official Xinhua news agency, China’s National Health Commission suggested on Thursday that children with mild symptoms “first go to primary health care facilities or to the pediatric departments of general hospitals,” as large hospitals are crowded and have long waiting times.
The health commission stated that it was highly attentive to the high incidence of infectious diseases in children and was “guiding local authorities to improve programming coordination and implement a multi-level diagnostic and treatment system.”
After the appearance of SARS in southern China in 2002, Beijing authorities instructed doctors to conceal patients, with some being taken in ambulances while WHO scientists visited the country. The WHO then threatened to close its office in China.
Nearly twenty years later, China delayed sharing essential information about the coronavirus with the UN health agency after the emergence of the new virus at the end of 2019. The WHO publicly praised China’s commitment to stopping the virus – a few weeks before it began causing explosive epidemics worldwide.
“As the WHO seeks to obtain this additional information, we recommend that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness,” the agency said, advising individuals to get vaccinated, isolate if feeling unwell, wear masks as needed, and seek medical care if necessary.
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2023-11-23 22:29:53
