Chinese mysterious 'newly mutated' disease outbreak sparks major epidemic fears

24 November 2023 , 12:01

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Beijing schools have reported heavy absenteeism after children have been struck by the disease (Image: Getty Images)

An unknown respiratory illness has swept across China, and officials are seeking more information as the epidemic is likened to the early days of Covid.

This is the first winter in China where Covid restrictions have been lifted, and now a new illness is threatening public health. As concerns grow, the World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking more answers from China about what exactly is going on. As some health experts look to pin the burgeoning crisis on the common aftermath of lifting isolation restrictions, others are raising a red flag regarding the source of this respiratory illness, which many are calling Pneumonia.

How and where has the disease affected China?

China’s National Health Commission reported an increase in respiratory diseases, on November, 13. Subsequently, the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED), tasked with flagging outbreaks of infectious diseases, reported swathes of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in the Northern region. ProMED then reported an inundation of cases in the North East, in Beijing, and in the city of Liaoning.

The WHO is now looking for answers from China (AFP via Getty Images)

In Beijing, it is children's wards that have been particularly flooded by cases. Al Jazeera reported: “One major hospital in the city has reported that on average every day, they are seeing about 1,200 patients enter their emergency room.” However, exact figures for the cases are not currently available, but Beijing schools are recording surging numbers of children not attending school, for a week or more. Parents are being warned to stay cautious.

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Increasingly concerned by the reports, the WHO probed China for details of the spreading disease specifically “additional epidemiologic and clinical information, as well as laboratory results from these reported clusters among children”.

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Why is the disease spreading in China?

Health officials have cited the continuously plummeting temperatures as a cause for concern. The country will continue to get colder from this week, meaning cases will be more likely to spread. China’s National Health Commission has also put the influx of cases down to the lifting of restrictions for the first winter since Covid broke out. Officials agreed, citing a “lockdown exit wave” as likely causation, such as was seen in the UK post covid.

Francois Belloux, director of University College London’s Genetic Institute, said in a statement posted on X that the country may be paying “immunity debt” after they dealt with Covid by stringently locking down the entire country. Belloux added that this “must have drastically reduced the circulation of respiratory bugs and hence decreased immunity to endemic bug”.

What is the disease?

Belloux added that based on current information, “there is no reason to suspect the emergence of a novel pathogen” and that Mycoplasma pneumoniae, the probable source of most cases and a bacteria that typically affects younger children, is “generally fairly harmless”. Chinese authorities also listed mycoplasma as one of the circulating pathogens. They also listed the respiratory syncytial virus ( ) and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes .

However, the cause of the disease could be a new pathogen, and WHO is asking China for more details on the patterns of the pathogens and outbreaks in the country. Laith Abu-Raddad, professor of healthcare policy and research at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar said the outbreak could also be down to “an existing but newly mutated pathogen with modified characteristics and severity. Both scenarios would be of global concern as pathogens will cross national borders sooner or later regardless of preventive measures.”

What will happen next in China?

Chinese authorities said there is a need to step up disease surveillance and strengthen the capacity of health systems. Precautions and systems used during the Covid pandemic have been put back into place after The WHO advised the country to be meticulous about public health. In Liaoning Province, there has been severe pressure on medical facilities and queues have formed outside Dalian Children’s Hospital. ProMED has reported people waiting for two hours

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This disease seems to be mainly affecting those under 18 but the disabled, elderly, and pregnant are also likely to be at risk. However, it has been agreed that there is a void of information regarding the outbreak and more details are needed.

Emilia Randall