WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
An “extremely high” number of children are being hospitalized with pneumonia in Ohio, which is now the first US state to report an outbreak like the one in China.
Health officials in Warren County, 30 miles north of Cincinnati, said there have been 142 pediatric cases of the condition, called “white lung syndrome,” since August.
“Not only is it above the county average, but it also meets the Ohio Department of Health’s definition of an outbreak,” the county health department said Wednesday.
The spread of cases has raised fears of a US outbreak of the infection that has overwhelmed China’s hospitals. Several European countries are struggling with similar crises.
But a source at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that, nationally, “nothing is out of the ordinary.”
An “ongoing investigation” is underway in Ohio into what is triggering the wave of illness, but officials do not believe it is a new respiratory illness and instead blame a combination of several common infections occurring all at the same time.
Children and their parents wait in an outpatient area of a children’s hospital in Beijing as the city’s hospitals are overwhelmed by cases of a new virus. It is feared that the disease has also reached the US.
Pictured above is Dr. Clint Koenig, who warned that hospitalizations in Warren County, Ohio, have increased in recent weeks.
So far, patients have tested positive for Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacterial lung infection for which some antibiotics are useless, streptococcus, and adenovirus, a normally benign respiratory infection.
The average age of patients is eight years old, although some are as young as three years old.
There are several theories, one of which is that children’s immunity has been weakened by lockdowns, mask-wearing and school closures during the pandemic, leaving them vulnerable to seasonal illnesses.
Bacterial respiratory infections usually appear every few years, usually when people recover from a bout of flu or other viral illnesses.
In a statement from the Warren County Health District, officials said, “We do not believe this is a new respiratory illness, but rather a large increase in the number of pneumonia cases that are typically seen at the same time.” .
He added: ‘As we approach the Christmas season, when many of us will be gathering with family and friends, remember to take the necessary precautions to protect your health.
“Wash your hands, cover your cough, stay home when you’re sick, and stay up to date on vaccinations.”
Doctors say patients suffer mainly from fever, cough and fatigue.
It is unclear if there have been any deaths from the disease and officials have not responded to requests for more information.
The county was first alerted to the surge after schools said they were seeing more children sick than usual.
Speaking to local reporters, Warren County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Clint Koenig said, “We have seen hospitalizations (for childhood pneumonia) increase in recent weeks, so we ask parents to be vigilant.” “.
‘Our school districts have reported that the outbreak began around August, but actually increased between mid and late October.
“We have also seen many cases of missing children and the resulting diagnosis is pneumonia.”
A source at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its data showed childhood pneumonia levels in other states were following “seasonal trends.”
“There is nothing out of the ordinary, but we continue to monitor,” they said.
It comes after the Netherlands and Denmark also said they were recording mysterious spikes in pneumonia cases, many of which are partly attributed to mycoplasma.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae usually causes a mild flu-like illness, sometimes called “walking pneumonia.” Cases are more common in younger children.
Some antibiotics, such as penicillin, have no effect.
Footage has emerged of workers in hazmat suits spraying classrooms allegedly in the city of Sanhe, about 40 miles east of Beijing. It was posted by New York-based activists who said the images were recent.
More snippets of the footage are shown in the photo above, including a worker filmed spraying disinfectant inside a classroom.
Shown above is a stock image of a child in the hospital with a breathing device.
Strep is a common cause of sore throat and is typically diagnosed in children ages five to 15, although it can be treated with antibiotics.
And adenovirus, which causes symptoms similar to those of the common cold and was thought to be behind a rise in childhood hepatitis cases last year.
China has been recording a rise in childhood pneumonia cases since May, which came to light last month after it was reported in Taiwan.
Health officials reported the cases to ProMED, the same system where Covid was first reported, saying there was a mystery pneumonia in the country.
Thousands of children have reportedly been taken to hospitals while sick in northern and eastern parts of the country, including Beijing, Shanghai and Liaoning province.
Chinese officials have insisted that the wave of infections is not being caused by a new disease, but is the country’s “exit wave” of the pandemic.
Lockdowns weakened children’s immunity because they were not exposed to the normal “good” germs needed to develop a strong immune system.
The agency came under fire yesterday from Congress, which demanded it hand over all of its data on the mysterious pneumonia outbreak.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a scathing letter to the new CDC director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, demanding action.
They also said the CDC should start publishing biweekly updates on the situation in China.
They wrote: “If the CDC wants to regain credibility with the American people, it must be transparent and forthcoming with the information it has about the public health threats facing our nation.”