The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about a rise in cases of respiratory illnesses in China and has asked Chinese authorities for more detailed information on the subject, calling on the population to better protect themselves.
These concerns come nearly four years after the emergence in China of a mysterious "viral pneumonia" , which would later become the source of the Covid-19 pandemic. The WHO was criticized for its alleged lack of responsiveness in issuing the alert.
"The WHO has made a formal request to China for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported outbreaks of pneumonia in children ," the organization said in a statement Wednesday.
The Geneva-based (Switzerland) organization recommends that the population respect "measures aimed at reducing the risk of respiratory illness" .
Wearing a mask
Already recommended during the Covid-19 pandemic and during epidemics in general, these include vaccination , distancing from the sick, isolation in case of symptoms, testing and treatment when necessary, as well as wearing a mask .
On November 13, speaking to the press, Chinese authorities attributed this increase in respiratory illnesses to the abandonment this year of anti-Covid health restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens.
They then stressed the need to improve disease surveillance in health facilities, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the health system to care for patients, the WHO specifies.
Pneumonia
Chinese state media and the global disease surveillance system ProMED each reported unconfirmed cases of pneumonia in children in northern China on Tuesday.
The WHO has indicated it is seeking to clarify where ProMED obtained this information. The organization also stated that it requested additional epidemiological and clinical information, as well as laboratory results, from China on Wednesday regarding these reported outbreaks in children .
The WHO "also requested further information on recent trends in the circulation of known pathogens, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19), RSV which affects infants and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (a bacterium that causes pneumonia), as well as on the degree of strain on the health system ," the statement further specifies.
Cold snap
Located in northern China, the capital Beijing is currently facing a cold wave , with sub-zero temperatures forecast for Thursday evening.
The city is "entering a season with a high incidence of infectious respiratory diseases ," Wang Quanyi, deputy director and chief epidemiologist of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, reminded the press on Wednesday.
On Thursday in Beijing, at the hospital of the capital's Institute of Pediatrics, AFP journalists saw a crowd of parents and children.
Among them is Zhou Yedong, a father carrying his four-year-old daughter on his shoulders. "My daughter has pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae. We're not sending her to kindergarten for the time being ," he explains. "Many of her classmates are sick with it right now."
Lack of transparency
Li Meiling, a 42-year-old mother, came to the hospital with her daughter, who also has a lung infection caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae. "She doesn't have many symptoms. But it's true that many children her age are affected right now ," she told AFP. "I'm not worried about this WHO announcement. It's winter, so it's normal to have more cases of respiratory illnesses. It's due to the season."
The WHO says it is in contact with doctors and scientists through its existing partnerships and technical networks in China. The organization had criticized Chinese authorities for their lack of transparency during the investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, the first cases of which were identified in China in late 2019.
This investigation has still not reached a definitive conclusion.
