What could be causing this surge of illness in children across China? Is it related to Mycoplasma infection?
China is grappling with a surge in respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia, in children. The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that common winter infections — rather than any new pathogens — are behind the spike in hospitalizations.
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Mycoplasma is a type of bacteria that does not have a cell wall, therefore making many antibiotics like penicillin (primary mechanism is damage to bacterial cell wall) not very effective.
These small bacteria tend to cause respiratory and urogenital infections.
The common bacterial infection, known to typically affect children, has circulated since May.
But many cases in children are now showing ground glass opacity, also known as "white lung syndrome", in lung scans - an indicator of severe respiratory illness.
Many parents are deeply worried about "white lungs" and many sick children need "lung cleansing", report Radio Free Asia.
But with hospitals warning of long waiting queues, parents are having to wait at least a day just for emergency care.
Read The Sun article here >
Of these co-infections, M. pneumoniae has had the strongest association with SARS-CoV-2 [8]. A meta-analysis has found that 7% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had coexisting bacterial infections, 14% of which were in the ICU setting, with M. pneumoniae being the leading bacterial pathogen.
Rangroo, Rohit, et al. "The Severity of the Co-infection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in COVID-19 Patients." Cureus 14.4 (2022).
It is probable that a combination of interferon suppression through SARS-COV2 infection along with increased size of microvilli on respiratory ciliated cells could be a perfect nidus for Mycoplasma infection.
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