Mycoplasma pneumonia: Deadly infection on the rise in children

Medical experts are warning about a scary infection disproportionately impacting children that is sweeping Australia.

A highly-contagious bacteria which disproportionately impacts children is sweeping Australia.

It causes a lung infection with symptoms including fever, a dry and persistent cough, and is spread by droplets from an infected person’s nose or throat.

China is also experiencing a surge in infections, with coughing and sneezing among the easiest ways it spreads.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is a form of the inflammatory chest condition that is caused by the bacterial pathogen, mycoplasma pneumonia.

Australian Medical Association (AMA) NSW branch president Dr Michael Bonning told news.com.au that Australia is experiencing “higher rates” of mycoplasma pneumonia which “aligns with the experience of Asia, North America and Europe”.

“What we are seeing is more cases that are ending up in hospital,” he said.

“It’s sometimes referred to as ‘walking pneumonia’ because people can appear relatively well but they actually have symptoms that persist for up to a month,” he said.

Dr Bonning said mycoplasma pneumonia particularly impacts children between 3 and 7 years old.

“This is the peak time of their level of exposure because of the way they play and interact with others,” he said.

“It is passed by aerosols and droplets from one person to another. Kids are touching lots of surfaces at that age.”

Mycoplasma pneumonia is treated with antibiotics but is some cases, according it can be fatal.

“The main thing for parents is if a child isn’t reacting in the normal way to a respiratory illness, if kids are not getting back up after a few days we want those kids to be seen by a GP,” the doctor explained.

Mycoplasma pneumonia outbreaks globally

Several European countries have reported a sharp rise of cases of child pneumonia similar to those that have plagued mainland China.

Medics suspect mycoplasma pneumonia, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to be behind the horror wave of pneumonia cases that has led to thousands of children being hospitalised in China.

Paediatric units have been swamped and many hospital wards are at capacity, with pictures of full waiting rooms being shared on social media.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is treated with antibiotics but in some cases can be fatal.

Beijing Children’s Hospital is receiving up to 9378 new patients a day and has been at full capacity for two months, according to government newspaper The Global Times.

Late last year the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was monitoring “undiagnosed pneumonia in children’s hospitals in Beijing, Liaoning and other places in China”.

Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in “influenza-like illnesses” compared with the same period in the previous three years, according to WHO.

Clusters of undiagnosed childhood pneumonia cases have also been reported in the north of the country, though it’s unclear whether these are related to the respiratory infections.

Pictures of full hospitals and people walking around in face masks and hazmat suits serve as a chilling reminder of the Covid pandemic.

Children and their parents wait at an outpatient area at a children hospital in Beijing on November 23. Picture: AFP

India, Nepal, Taiwan and Thailand have ramped up surveillance and told doctors to be on alert for pneumonia cases within their populations.

Several European countries have also reported a rise in cases of mycoplasma pneumoniae, sparking fears of a new pandemic.

Meanwhile, health officials in Denmark say rates of mycoplasma pneumoniae have reached “epidemic” levels.

Denmark’s Statens Serum Institute said rates have tripled over the past five weeks with many more cases expected over the course of winter.

Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO department of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the rise in respiratory illness was in line with “what most countries dealt with a year or two ago”.

“This phenomenon of lockdown exit waves of respiratory infections is sometimes referred to as immunity debt,” Prof Francois Balloux, of University College London, told UK news outlet The Independent.

“Since China experienced a far longer and harsher lockdown than essentially any other country on Earth, it was anticipated that those lockdown exit waves could be substantial in China.”