A MYSTERY Pneumonia outbreak sweeping China is worsening, with terrified parents clutching their children on hospital floors.
Children are being given life-saving IVs while Beijing, where the mysterious illness has wreaked havoc, continues to downplay the hazards over a week after the outbreak began.
As frightening echoes of the Covid outbreak are detected, the lethal illness is killing children and closing schools across China.
Thousands of calls from concerned parents seeking emergency appointments have swamped doctors.
Beijing has informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the surge in cases of people experiencing flu-like symptoms is due to “multiple known pathogens” returning stronger than ever, despite the fact that the exact ailment remains unknown to specialists.
Officials attribute this to the relaxation of Covid regulations, which helped to suffocate numerous respiratory germs as people took extra measures.
According to reports, hospitals are “overwhelmed with sick children” who exhibit symptoms such as lungs inflammation and a high fever but no cough.
A similar situation is brewing in Liaoning, which is about 500 miles from Beijing.
The WHO found an increase in “influenza-like illness” since mid-October when compared to the same period in the previous three years.
Despite the fact that the ailment remains unknown, the reputable organisation stated that no odd or unique pathogens were discovered after reviewing the disease data.
In lung scans, children are now showing ground glass opacity, sometimes known as “white lung syndrome,” a symptom of severe respiratory disease.
Many parents are concerned about “white lungs,” and many sick youngsters require “lung cleansing,” according to Radio Free Asia.
However, with hospitals warning of enormous lines, parents are forced to wait at least a day for emergency care.
On Tuesday, ProMed, a system that monitors worldwide illness epidemics and was one of the first to recognise the dangers of Covid, issued a warning.
Mr W, a Beijing citizen ProMed, stated: “Many, many are hospitalised.” They have no symptoms and do not cough.
“They just have a high temperature and many develop pulmonary nodules.”
Crowds of parents and children clad in winter gear were seen at Beijing’s Capital Institute of Paediatrics’ Children’s Hospital.
A mother reported that her coughing nine-year-old son had mycoplasma pneumonia, a disease that can cause sore throats, tiredness, and fever.
“There are really a lot of children who have caught it recently,” she went on to say. “Of course that worries me.”
Li Meiling, 42, brought her eight-year-old daughter to the hospital, claiming she had the same form of pneumonia as her.
“A lot of children her age are ill with this at the moment,” she said.
“There is a steady number of patients developing severe cases, but there are very few critical cases, and there have been no related deaths so far,” Dr Hua Shaodong, a paediatrician at Beijing Children’s Hospital, told China Daily.
“The average days in hospital for hospitalised patients is around seven to 14 days.”
Professor Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), stated that they are keeping a ‘open mind’ despite China’s official reaction.
“The World Health Organisation has received an official response from China in response to its request for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children,” she said.
“We must remain open-minded about the cause of any increased reporting of disease clusters, including this illness in Chinese children.”
She also stated that the UKHSA is “closely monitoring the situation” and will keep a close eye on the issue in order to keep the UK safe from any potential threat of a global epidemic in the future.
Last year, China was frantically clinging to its “zero Covid” approach, as officials barred 13 million people from leaving their homes, threatening them with starvation and harsh fines.
With a sweeping lockdown and stringent restrictions, the country was scrambling to control one of its deadliest outbreaks in a single city since the pandemic’s inception.
As the government prepared for the Winter Olympics in February 2022, China implemented a harsh “zero Covid” policy that included severe restrictions in affected areas, strong border controls, and lengthy quarantines.
To combat the swelling flood of Covid infections, the 13 million people residing in the northern city of Xian were barred from leaving their houses, even for basic purposes such as purchasing food.
