China pneumonia outbreak: Is it the beginning of next pandemic? All you need to know

New Delhi: China, which became the epicenter of Covid-19 pandemic in 2022-21, has been hit by another deadly & mysterious pneumonia outbreak, mostly in children. The new health emergency, arising in China again, has sent alarm bells ringing for the whole world including global health agencies.

Reports suggest that the mysterious pneumonia has infected children in many provinces of China including Beijing, Xinxiang & Lianining. A sudden surge in children hospitalization is being reported from all these provinces.

The mysterious pneumonia is reported to have swept across many educational institutions in China and the hospitals have become overwhelmed with high turnout of patients, mostly children.

The fresh health hazard in form of pneumonia comes at a time when China is still recovering from the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic.

Reports suggest that pediatric departments in hospitals have been flooded by numerous complaints of pneumonia in children.

Some provinces have invoked stringent measures to contain its spread while others have been advised to exercise maximum caution in treating the children.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also nudged China to shared details on latest ‘pandemic’ hitting the country. It asked China to share more information on respiratory illnesses and pneumonia, being reported in its many provinces.

Though, China today issued a statement and ruled out any mysterious pneumonia digging its feet here. Though, no deaths/casualty have been reported so far, the sudden outbreak of respiratory illnesses in children has left the global community shaken & shocked.

What is pneumonia? What causes it?

Initial reports attribute China’s mysterious & unexplained disease to mycoplasma pneumonia, also called ‘walking pneumonia’, though official confirmation about the same is still awaited.

Pneumonia is an infection of the lung, either one or both the lungs, where it fills the air sacs with mucus or fluid. It is typically caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi and the symptoms show as per the severity of infection.

Is this outbreak similar/different to pneumonia?

When a person afflicted with pneumonia, he/she shows common symptoms like cough, fever, chills or difficulty in breathing. The patient may experience peak & lows of disease, depending upon severity of infection.

However, in the case of China’s pneumonia outbreak, those seeking medication have been reporting high fever & lung inflammation. Cough is usually absent from most of them.

It is too early to draw conclusions from existing pattern of disease spread, medical experts say that such symptoms could also occur because of other viruses including rhinovirus, enterovirus, Covid-19 virus & more.

The standard treatment for pneumonia includes use of antibiotics, antiviral medicines and anti-fungal dreams.

How to prevent pneumonia outbreak?

If the outbreak is no more than Pneumonia , it wouldn’t be a matter of big concern as the disease gets controlled with use of basic medicines and by bringing in practice, basic life etiquettes.

Precautionary steps like washing hands, wearing masks, maintaining social distance can go a long way in containing the disease. However, it is too early to say, with existing information, that it will translate into another wave of pandemic.

What’s the latest in China?

As per latest reports, China is battling a big outbreak of pneumonia in children and the hospitals in many provinces, paediatric department in particular, are on the brink of collapse. The number of patients requiring hospitalization are set to outnumber the existing healthcare facilities in China, a health scare last seen during Covid outbreak.