China sees average 7,000 pneumonia cases amid mysterious outbreak: What we know so far

The mysterious pneumonia outbreak has created a panic in China fearing a possible pandemic situation.

After years of reeling under the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, China is now facing a new threat - a mysterious pneumonia outbreak. The disease has led to a massive surge in hospital admissions in the country. According to the state-owned China National Radio earlier this week, the Beijing children’s hospital is seeing an average of 7,000 patients per day - exceeding the hospital’s capacity. This has created a panic in the country fearing a possible pandemic situation.

Children and their parents wait at an outpatient area at a children hospital in Beijing amid pneumonia outbreak. (AFP)

Here's what we know so far about the mysterious pneumonia outbreak:

1. Concerns about the disease were first sparked internationally by an alert published on Tuesday by the monitoring service ProMED - part of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. The organisation called for more information about ‘undiagnosed pneumonia - China (Beijing, Liaoning)’. This alert echoed the first-ever notice of Covid-19 pandemic which said: ‘Undiagnosed pneumonia - China (Hubei)’.
2. According to some experts, the current wave of disease in China is likely due to respiratory illnesses like flu, RSV, or bacterial infection, and it is probably experiencing a significant wave of childhood infections since this was the first winter since lockdown restrictions were lifted.
3. Due to the surge in the cases of pneumonia, China's national health commission on Thursday suggested that children with mild symptoms first visit primary healthcare institutions or pediatrics departments of general hospitals because large hospitals are crowded and have long waiting times. The health commission added that it has been paying close attention to the high incidence of infectious diseases among children and is “guiding local authorities to enhance coordinated scheduling and implement a tiered diagnosis and treatment system.”
4. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children in the country. According to the UN health agency, it was unclear whether the cases were linked to a rise in respiratory infections reported by Chinese authorities on November 13.
5. The WHO has also recommended people in China to follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness, advising them to get vaccinated, isolate if they are feeling ill, wear masks if necessary, and get medical care as needed.
6. Meanwhile, scientists have urged caution over fears of another pandemic and asked not to press “pandemic panic buttons”.

(With inputs from agencies)