In the wake mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China, the Union Health Ministry on Friday said that it is actively monitoring the outbreak of H9N2 and the emergence of respiratory illness clusters in children in the neighboring country.
“There is a low risk to India from both the avian influenza cases reported from China as well as the clusters of respiratory illness. India is prepared for any kind of exigency that may emerge from the current situation,” Ministry said in a statement.
For the unversed, China is facing a major pneumonia outbreak with no known cause in children, and it is overwhelming paediatric hospitals in the country. Reportrs claimed that the children are mainly seeing symptoms including high fever, with some kids developing pulmonary nodules. There is so far no indication that the infections are deadly. China has been experiencing epidemics such as influenza, mycoplasma, and bronchopneumonia since the beginning of the year, reportedly after it stopped adhering to the "zero" Covid policy.
Mysterious Pneumonia: Key Points
- The outbreak of pneumonia in China has overwhelmed paediatric hospitals in Beijing, Liaoning and other places with sick children.
- Schools and classes are also on the verge of suspension. "Not only are all students sick, but teachers are also infected with pneumonia," reports said.
- "Many, many are hospitalised. They don't cough and have no symptoms. They just have a high temperature (fever) and many develop pulmonary nodules," a Beijing citizen at the Beijing Children's Hospital reported.
- Dalian Children's Hospital in Liaoning Province is also full of sick children receiving intravenous drips. There are also queues of patients at the traditional Chinese medicine hospitals and the central hospitals. "Patients have to wait in line for 2 hours, and we are all in the emergency department and there are no general outpatient clinics," according to a staff member of Dalian Central Hospital.
- Some observers speculate the outbreak could be caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, commonly known as "walking pneumonia." "It is possible #China could be seeing a surge in respiratory infections as other countries did in their first winter after lockdown," Krutika Kuppalli, MD, an infectious disease physician who is with the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme wrote on X.
