https://themessenger.com/health/china-covid-illness
Mansur Shaheen
https://themessenger.com/health/china-covid-illness
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Children in China are falling ill with a mysterious form of pneumonia, and parents are concerned that the nation’s health authorities are covering up a new epidemic.
A health alert appeared on ProMED, a global surveillance platform for infectious disease outbreaks, Tuesday night of a mysterious illness emerging in China. Hospitals in Beijing, one of the most populous cities in the world with 22 million residents, and the southern province of Liaoning are overwhelmed, the notice said.
“In the early morning, Beijing Children's Hospital was still overcrowded with parents and children whose children had pneumonia and came to seek treatment,” the notice reads.
One Beijing resident, named Mr. W, said: “Many, many are hospitalized. They don't cough and have no symptoms. They just have a high temperature (fever) and many develop pulmonary nodules."
Tongren hospital in Shanghai on January 3, 2023.HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images
The notice also said that parents are showing great concern over the outbreak. Schools in the city either have been or are nearing cancellation because of the massive outbreak, and parents are questioning “whether the authorities were covering up the epidemic,” according to the notice.
"Now you are not allowed to report to school. If you have any symptoms such as fever, cold, cough and then you are hospitalized, you can ask for leave,” Mr. W continued.
Some teachers have also fallen ill, the notice said.
The early confusion and potential coverup of a virus outbreak echos the early stages of COVID-19, of which the first ever case appeared nearly four years ago. The first COVID case reported in medical literature was on December 1, 2019, though at the time it was unclear what the virus was and its potential to cause a global pandemic.
The first ever cases of the virus have been backdated to as early as late-October.
Of this outbreak, ProMED’s Dan Silver wrote in an editor’s note: “This report suggests a widespread outbreak of an undiagnosed respiratory illness in several areas in China as Beijing and Liaoning are almost 800 km apart.
“It is not at all clear when this outbreak started as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly. The report does not say that any adults were affected suggesting some exposure at the schools. ProMED awaits more definitive information about the etiology and scope of this concerning illness in China.
“It is too early to project whether this could be another pandemic but as a wise influenza virologist once said to me "The pandemic clock is ticking, we just do not know what time it is."
Mysterious Disease Outbreak in China Has Residents Fearing Authorities Are ‘Covering Up’ New Epidemic
An alert of the disease, circulating in children, was posted Tuesday night
Published 11/22/23 05:44 PM ET|Updated 16 hr agoMansur Shaheen
https://themessenger.com/health/china-covid-illness
1 second of 46 secondsVolume 0%
Children in China are falling ill with a mysterious form of pneumonia, and parents are concerned that the nation’s health authorities are covering up a new epidemic.
A health alert appeared on ProMED, a global surveillance platform for infectious disease outbreaks, Tuesday night of a mysterious illness emerging in China. Hospitals in Beijing, one of the most populous cities in the world with 22 million residents, and the southern province of Liaoning are overwhelmed, the notice said.
“In the early morning, Beijing Children's Hospital was still overcrowded with parents and children whose children had pneumonia and came to seek treatment,” the notice reads.
One Beijing resident, named Mr. W, said: “Many, many are hospitalized. They don't cough and have no symptoms. They just have a high temperature (fever) and many develop pulmonary nodules."
Tongren hospital in Shanghai on January 3, 2023.HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images
The notice also said that parents are showing great concern over the outbreak. Schools in the city either have been or are nearing cancellation because of the massive outbreak, and parents are questioning “whether the authorities were covering up the epidemic,” according to the notice.
"Now you are not allowed to report to school. If you have any symptoms such as fever, cold, cough and then you are hospitalized, you can ask for leave,” Mr. W continued.
Some teachers have also fallen ill, the notice said.
The early confusion and potential coverup of a virus outbreak echos the early stages of COVID-19, of which the first ever case appeared nearly four years ago. The first COVID case reported in medical literature was on December 1, 2019, though at the time it was unclear what the virus was and its potential to cause a global pandemic.
The first ever cases of the virus have been backdated to as early as late-October.
Of this outbreak, ProMED’s Dan Silver wrote in an editor’s note: “This report suggests a widespread outbreak of an undiagnosed respiratory illness in several areas in China as Beijing and Liaoning are almost 800 km apart.
“It is not at all clear when this outbreak started as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly. The report does not say that any adults were affected suggesting some exposure at the schools. ProMED awaits more definitive information about the etiology and scope of this concerning illness in China.
“It is too early to project whether this could be another pandemic but as a wise influenza virologist once said to me "The pandemic clock is ticking, we just do not know what time it is."
