Child pneumonia outbreak sweeps across US as horror virus surges worldwide

01 December 2023 , 15:38

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Spikes in children getting hospitalised for pneumonia have caused worry across the US and around the world (Image: Getty Images)

Cases of the mystery "white lung syndrome," a respiratory illness that seems to be impacting children the most, are spiking across the country as doctors scramble to treat influxes of children falling ill with pneumonia.

The latest surges in cases have been detected in Warren County, Ohio, just outside of Cincinnati, and in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, which is near Springfield in the western half of the state. In Ohio, 142 children fell ill with the disease, according to the Warren County Health Department and the Ohio Department of Health, local outlet WCPO reported, and a pediatrician in East Longmeadow has reported seeing "a whole lot" of cases, according to Western Mass News.

But what's causing the surges, and what is the mystery illness, which seems to closely mirror an outbreak occurring around Beijing, China, in recent weeks and months?

READ MORE: China's new virus outbreak explained - the truth behind pneumonia-like disease

The outbreaks come as China is overwhelmed by child illness cases and Denmark and the Netherlands have both seen spikes, too (Getty Images)

The answer is a complicated one, but for the cases in Warren County and Beijing, it appears that a combination of various infectious diseases like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, Covid-19 and mycoplasma pneumoniae are to blame, according to data the World Health Organisation (WHO) reportedly received from the Chinese government and similar data from the Warren County Health Department obtained by local news outlet WLWT.

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In East Longmeadow, however, Dr. John Kelley of Redwood Pediatrics told Western Mass News that many of the cases are related to an outbreak of RSV. He told the outlet: "This is the season for RSV, and we're seeing a whole lot of it... a lot of kids with, you know, upper viral respiratory infections, cough, runny nose, some fevers. And the thinking with RSV is that it can cause lower viral respiratory infections, so they get spread to your lungs."

While the kids usually get better in a matter of days, the impacts of the disease can be lasting, and there are no medications available to cure it, Kelley said. "Once you have it, [it's] all supportive care," he said.

The pneumonia is caused by a combination of diseases in some cases, including RSV and Covid-19 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines RSV as a "common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms." But it warned that "infants and older adults are more likely to develop severe RSV and need hospitalization."

There are shots with antibodies and a vaccine that can be administered as well, Kelley said, and doing so can reduce hospitalisations by as much as 80%. There is a shortage of the shot, however, making it incredibly difficult to get ahold of.

The average age of patients in Warren County is 8, but it remains unclear the exact number of cases or the age range of patients in East Longmeadow. In Beijing, reports indicate that as many as 7,000 children were admitted to a children's hospital near the city as the WHO desperately seeks more information about the mystery illnesses in a rare intervention move.

And now, Denmark and the Netherlands both are reporting spikes in cases, according to a statement from Denmark's State Serum Institute (SSI) obtained by The Standard. Those spikes seem to be the result of mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria. The world is bracing for an "epidemic" as cases in the illness, which is still primarily impacting children, surge.

Jeremiah Hassel