WHO asks China for details on respiratory illness outbreaks

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked China for details on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children, which its China office on Nov 22 called a “routine” check.

The Chinese authorities from the National Health Commission held a press conference on Nov 13 to report an increase in incidence of respiratory diseases.

They attributed the increase to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae, a common bacterial infection that typically affects younger children, respiratory syncytial virus, and the virus that causes Covid-19.

Both China and the WHO have faced questions about the transparency of reporting on the earliest Covid-19 cases that emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

On Nov 22, the WHO said groups including the Programme for Monitoring Emerging Diseases reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China. It said it was unclear if these were associated with the overall increase in respiratory infections previously reported by the Chinese authorities, or separate events.

The health agency said it had requested additional epidemiologic and clinical information, as well as laboratory results from these reported outbreaks among children, through the International Health Regulations mechanism.

Under the rules, China is supposed to respond to the WHO within 24 hours.

It has also asked China for further information about trends in the circulation of known pathogens and the current burden on healthcare systems. It said it was in contact with clinicians and scientists through its existing technical partnerships and networks in China.

The WHO said it was “routine” to request information on increases in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children from member states, such as China.

It decided to issue a statement on China to share available information, as it received a number of queries about it from the media, it said in an e-mailed statement.

The ProMED alert was based on a report by FTV News in Taiwan that came out on Nov 21.

Undiagnosed pneumonia was not mentioned at last week’s press conference, according to a transcript, but one speaker said everyone felt like there had been an increase in respiratory illnesses in 2023 compared with three years ago.

The speaker said that global monitoring for mycoplasma pneumoniae had been at a low over the past three years and epidemics were cyclical, occurring every three to seven years.

‘Seasonal surge’
The rise in respiratory illnesses comes as China braces itself for its first full winter season since it lifted strict Covid-19 restrictions in December 2022. Many other countries saw similar increases in respiratory diseases after easing pandemic measures.

“It is just a relatively large seasonal surge, perhaps partly due to chance and partly because there’s a bit of ‘immunity debt’ from the lesser winter surges in the last three years,” said Professor Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at Hong Kong University.

China’s National Health Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Nov 23, it published an interview with state media agency Xinhua in which it advised parents what to do, and mentioned that big hospitals were receiving a large number of patients and waiting times were long. It did not comment on the WHO notice.

Since mid-October, the WHO said northern China had reported an increase in influenza-like illness compared with the same period in the previous three years.

It said the country had systems in place to capture information on trends in illness incidence and to report that data to platforms such as the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System.

In recent days, media outlets in cities such as Xi’an in the north-west have posted videos of hospitals crowded with parents and children awaiting checks.

Some social media users have posted photos of children doing homework while receiving intravenous drips in hospital.

The WHO said that while it sought additional information, it recommended that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness, including vaccination; keeping a distance from people who are ill; staying home when ill; getting tested and medical care as needed; wearing masks as appropriate; ensuring good ventilation; and regular hand-washing. (REUTERS)