B42 What is the mysterious pneumonia outbreak 神秘肺炎爆發 in

China?

The WHO has asked China for more information on the undiagnosed 未確診
pneumonia outbreak that has spiked since October.

The pneumonia outbreak seems to be particularly affecting children in China. [File: Andy
Wong/AP Photo]
By Areesha Lodhi, Published On 23 Nov 202323 Nov
2023

As China experiences its first winter without strict COVID-19 restrictions since the
outbreak of the pandemic three years ago, a wave of respiratory illnesses 呼吸系統疾
病is sweeping across 席捲 the country.

The unusual rise in cases has prompted 提醒 the World Health Organization (WHO)
to China for additional information on the outbreak and seek enhanced response
measures. Although the cause of this trend is unclear 這種趨勢的原因尚不清楚,
some health experts are attributing 歸因 it to a common and temporary aftereffect 後
果 of lifting lockdown restrictions 解除封鎖限制, even as unanswered questions
around the infections 感染 and the country of their spread have led others to draw
parallels 比較 with the early days of the pandemic. 大流行

Here is what to know about the current situation with the outbreak and what to expect:
What do we know about China’s pneumonia outbreak so far?

 On November 13, China’s National Health Commission reported an increase

in respiratory diseases at a press conference.

 On Sunday, clusters 集群 of undiagnosed pneumonia 未確診的肺炎 in

children in northern China were reported by the Program for Monitoring
Emerging Diseases 新興疾病監測計劃 (ProMED), a surveillance system that
conducts global reporting of infectious disease outbreaks. It is unclear if this
report overlapped with the press conference information. 記者會的訊息重疊

 According to the ProMED report, infections have proliferated 擴散 in Beijing

and the city of Liaoning 遼寧 in the country’s northeast, which are 800km
(500 miles) apart.

 On Wednesday, the WHO asked China to release information on the recent

outbreak, including “additional epidemiologic and clinical information 其他流
行病學和臨床資訊, as well as laboratory results from these reported clusters
among children”.

 Although official figures on the number of cases are not available yet,
hospitals in Beijing have witnessed a surge in patients 患者激增, especially in
the children’s wards 兒童病房. “One major hospital in the city has reported
that on average every day, they are seeing about 1,200 patients enter their
emergency room,” Al Jazeera correspondent Katrina Yu reported from Beijing
on Thursday.

 Schools in Beijing are also reporting high levels of absenteeism 缺席, even
dismissing entire classes 甚至全班放學 for at least a week if some students
are ill and warning parents to be extra cautious, Yu said.

 Health officials are also worried that winter will exacerbate 加劇 the spread of
the infections after a warning from China’s national weather authority that,
starting on Thursday, the country’s cold temperatures will plunge 暴跌 even
further.

Why is pneumonia spreading in China?

Authorities from China’s National Health Commission attributed the rise in cases to
the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Health experts have also agreed that this could
be the reason, similar to the “lockdown exit wave 封鎖解除波” that was witnessed
in countries like the United Kingdom.

China may be repaying 償還 an “immunity debt 免稅債務” after their lengthy

lockdown, “which must have drastically 徹底地 reduced the circulation of respiratory
bugs 呼吸道疾病 and hence decreased immunity to endemic bugs 對特定病菌的免
疫力下降”, Francois Belloux, director of University College London’s Genetic
Institute, said in a statement posted on X.

He added that based on current information, “there is no reason to suspect the

emergence 緊急狀況 of a novel pathogen 新病原體” and that Mycoplasma
pneumoniae 肺炎支原體, the probable source of most cases and a bacteria that
typically affects younger children, is “generally fairly harmless 通常相當無害 5”.

Chinese authorities listed mycoplasma as one of the circulating pathogens along with
respiratory syncytial virus 呼吸道融合病毒 (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that
causes COVID-19. The WHO has asked China for more information on the recent
patterns of these microorganisms 微生物.

While the presence of a novel pathogen is a possibility until more information is made
available, the outbreak could also be due to “an existing but newly mutated 突變
pathogen with modified characteristics and severity 特徵和嚴重程度”, said Laith
Abu-Raddad, professor of healthcare policy and research at Weill Cornell Medicine in
Qatar.

“Both scenarios would be of global concern as pathogens will cross national borders
sooner or later regardless of preventive measures,” he said.

What is pneumonia?

Pneumonia is an inflammation 發炎 of air sacs in the lungs 肺部的氣囊 due to

bacterial, viral or fungal infection. 細菌、病毒或真菌感染

Commonly affecting young children and older adults, the infection can be deadly.
Deaths due to the illness are highest in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa 撒哈拉以南非洲,
according to a WHO report in 2022.
Symptoms tend to include chest pain, coughing, fever and fatigue 疲勞. Although the
illness takes a toll on one’s lungs and body 損害肺部和身體, it can be treated with
antibiotics 抗生素 when caused by bacteria. Recovery timelines 時間軸 typically last
from a week to a month or more.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

1. Why is pneumonia spreading in China?

2.
3. What is pneumonia?