BEIJING. China’s health ministry has declared that the recent spike in respiratory illnesses across the country, drawing the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO), is attributed to the flu and other identified pathogens. The announcement comes amid global concern and signals a critical moment for the country’s health infrastructure.
A spokesperson for the National Health Commission revealed that the surge in respiratory infections results from a confluence of familiar viruses, including the influenza virus, rhinoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus, and bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae. This bacterium is a common culprit for respiratory tract infections, according to the health ministry.
In response to the growing health crisis, the ministry has called on local authorities to enhance their efforts, urging the opening of more fever clinics and the promotion of vaccinations, especially among children and the elderly. With China facing a surge in respiratory illnesses during its first full winter since the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, the ministry spokesman, Mi Feng, emphasized the need to extend service hours and increase the supply of medicines in relevant clinics.
Mi Feng further advised the public to wear masks and implored local authorities to concentrate on preventing the spread of illnesses in crowded places, such as schools and nursing homes.
The WHO, earlier this week, formally requested information from China concerning a potentially alarming increase in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children, as reported by various media outlets and a global infectious disease monitoring service.
The emergence of new flu strains or other viruses with pandemic potential often begins with undiagnosed clusters of respiratory illness, as witnessed in the initial reports of SARS and COVID-19. Chinese authorities had previously attributed the rise in respiratory diseases to the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, a phenomenon observed in other countries following the easing of pandemic-related measures.
During a teleconference on Thursday, Chinese health officials provided the WHO with the requested data, indicating an uptick in hospital admissions of children due to diseases, including bacterial infection, RSV, influenza, and common cold viruses since October. While Chinese officials assured the WHO that hospitals were not overwhelmed, the global health organization expressed the need for further information.
Notably, the WHO rarely makes public requests for detailed information from countries, usually handling such matters internally. In this case, the organization invoked an international legal mechanism to seek additional data from China.
Reports from within China suggest that the outbreaks have strained some hospitals in the northern regions, including Beijing. Health authorities have encouraged the public to take children with less severe symptoms to clinics and other facilities.
The WHO emphasized that, at present, there is insufficient information to thoroughly assess the risk posed by the reported cases of respiratory illness in children. Accusations of a lack of transparency have surfaced, recalling past criticisms of Chinese authorities and the WHO in their initial handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in Wuhan in December 2019.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
