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SINCE MID-OCTOBER THE World Health Organization (WHO) has been monitoring reports of an increase in respiratory illness in children in northern China.
In mid-November, China’s National Health Commission reported a nationwide increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases predominantly affecting young children. Health authorities attributed this increase to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the arrival of the cold season and circulating known pathogens such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), SARS-CoV-2, influenza and mycoplasma pneumonia. Both RSV and mycoplasma pneumonia are more common in children.
On 22 November, following reports of clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children’s hospitals in Beijing, Liaoning and other places in China, the WHO made an official request to China to provide additional information including laboratory results from these reported cases and data about recent trends in circulating respiratory pathogens. WHO was keen to know if the ‘clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia’ were separate events or part of the known general increase reported in the community.
The following day on 23 November, WHO held a teleconference with Chinese health authorities from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in China and the Beijing Children’s Hospital.
The data provided indicated an increase in outpatient consultations and hospital admissions of children due to mycoplasma pneumonia since May and RSV, adenovirus and influenza virus since October. The WHO report that some of these increases are earlier in the season than normal but not unexpected given the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, as has similarly occurred in other countries.
Chinese authorities reported no unusual disease presentation and no detection of any unusual or novel pathogens including in Beijing and Liaoning and the rise in respiratory illness had not exceeded hospital capacities. Surveillance for respiratory illness has increased in both inpatient and outpatient settings since mid-October.
This covers a broad spectrum of viruses and bacteria including for the first time mycoplasma pneumonia and the suggestion is that this may have contributed to increased detection and reporting of respiratory illness in children.
WHO says it is monitoring the situation closely and recommends that based on the available information the usual measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness should be taken. This includes vaccination against influenza and Covid-19, staying at home when ill, getting appropriate medical attention, ensuring good ventilation, appropriate mask-wearing and hand hygiene. There are no recommendations for travel or trade restrictions based on the current information, nor specific measures for travellers to China advised.
Mycoplasma pneumonia are bacteria that cause illness by damaging the lining of the respiratory system (throat, lungs, windpipe). Infection is spread by coughing or sneezing causing the release of small respiratory droplets containing the bacteria that can infect other people if they breathe in those droplets. People who spend a lot of time together are most at risk of infection.
Outbreaks of mycoplasma pneumonia mostly occur in crowded settings such as schools, college residential settings, long-term care facilities and hospitals.
Symptoms are generally mild including sore throat, tiredness, fever, slowly worsening cough that lasts for weeks or months or headache. Children under the age of five can present with sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes, vomiting or diarrhoea.
Pneumonia can occur presenting with fever and chills, cough, tiredness or shortness of breath. Once someone is infected with mycoplasma pneumonia, symptoms may take one to four weeks to occur.
Most people recover from infection without antibiotics. More severe infections may require antibiotics and there are several types to treat pneumonia caused by mycoplasma pneumonia.
While the infection is usually mild, complications can occur including serious pneumonia, asthma attacks, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), haemolytic anaemia (too few red blood cells which means fewer cells to deliver oxygen in the body), kidney problems or skin disorders. People at increased risk for serious infections include those recovering from a respiratory illness or those with a weakened immune system.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has said that an outbreak of mycoplasma pneumonia was notified to the HPSC in October and was the first in ‘a number of years.’ The situation is being monitored. Flu and Covid-19 levels remain relatively low at present while RSV cases are high with almost 300 patients hospitalised with RSV earlier this month: almost all infants and very young children.
Single cases of mycoplasma pneumonia are not notifiable in Ireland or in most European countries but outbreaks (more than one case that are epidemiologically linked) are notifiable.
Such a community outbreak was notified in October for the first time in a number of years. Otherwise, there is a small increase in detections this year by GPs with six cases notified in October and nine in November. In total, 19 cases have been reported in the community this year, compared to one case in 2022. The HPSC confirm that ‘these are just small numbers.’
Hospital detections also remain low with 13 cases this year compared to 77 in 2022. Cases of mycoplasma pneumonia are more common in summer and early autumn and peak cyclically every three to seven years.
‘Currently, the numbers of community mycoplasma pneumonia cases identified by the National Viral Reference Laboratory are higher than those seen last year but as infection follows a cyclical pattern, it is to be expected,’ the HPSC told the Irish Times, adding that they will continue to monitor infection trends.
The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) confirmed last week that an increase in respiratory infections in children is not unexpected in winter months in temperate regions of the world due to seasonal pathogens such as RSV, influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and mycoplasma pneumonia. EU/EEA countries and the UK are currently reporting increases in respiratory infections in children.
The concern over these cases is that the emergence of new flu strains or other viruses capable of triggering pandemics typically starts with undiagnosed clusters of respiratory illness with both SARS and Covid-19 first reported as unusual types of pneumonia.
However, the Chinese health ministry has concluded that the surge in respiratory illnesses across China is caused by flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus.
A local media outlet, Sixth Tone stated recently that the number of infected children in several provinces appears to have fallen. The Deputy Director of China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Professor Quanyi Wang reported on 20 November that mycoplasma pneumonia was no longer among the top three respiratory infections among children in Beijing.
‘The three years of zero-Covid restrictions may have lowered people’s normal levels of immunity to influenza-like viruses which could lead to a wave of infections in winter months,’ Prof Wang said.
Epidemiologist and medical statistician at Hong Kong University, Professor Ben Cowling agrees.
‘It’s just a relatively large seasonal surge, perhaps partly due to chance and partly because there’s a bit of ‘immunity debt’ from the lesser winter surges in the last three years,’
For now, the WHO and European and national health authorities agree – watch this space.
Dr Catherine Conlon is a public health doctor in Cork and former director of human health and nutrition, safefood.
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Context is everything. He didn’t use the word to describe someone; he was repeating what another person experienced.
Clickbait headline.
@Hugh: you clicked first tho …..
@Hugh: I think you need to learn how free to view news sites work
It’s an uncomfortable word to hear spoken with the hard-R but I think in the context of his speech accounting a victim’s abuse he was entirely correct to read it and make the listener uncomfortable.
@Rochelle: it’s a non-story
Pathetic tabloid click baiting. Journal turning into The Sun?
@In fairness now…: what other possible context did you expect him to use that word in? Non story all the same
Only black people can say that word then? What about when people outside of Cork say ‘lang*r”, do you know how that feels for us!..
@Lad: an African American called me n|gger once. I wasn’t brave enough to return the compliment
@Oracle Steve: I was once called it by a white Dublin teenager near Tallaght hospital. Not so much brave in that instance not to return the misappropriation. I’ll wait for the local TD – privileged Paul – to school him on the history of slavery from his d4 tower.
@Oracle Steve: Coming from an African American it would have been a positive reflection on you
@Lad: Sure, ’tis the same. Has the same meaning and all, haha. Dog-whistling racist clown.
@Brynþór Patrekursson: stop that. Telling the truth is wrong
@Lad: wow. Cork is now a race? I did not know that. Since when?
It’s a becoming a bit like the Jehovah scene in Life of Brian
https://youtu.be/Cnn2aGVcCEc
@Ger O’Reilly: Right…. who said that…. come on then…..the next person to ………
@Ger O’Reilly: you’re so right!!! Great clip!
It’s not a nice word to call someone but anyone who gets offended at someone just saying the word and not directing it at anyone is a first class moron. Is there not anything more important for people to be talking about in the Dail?
He hurts us more with his penal taxes he wants to impose on us
This race-baiting has got to stop, its getting way past a joke and has become annoying. I have never met one racist Irish person in my life, not a single one ever.
@Pat Coyne: You obviously have a very low bar for what you term racism. Racism is everywhere and rampant in Ireland.
@Paul Whitehead: what a blind eye I must have Paul. Working in the industry I work in, thousands of members of the public, hundreds of colleagues, over a 35 year period, “everywhere” and “rampant” is most certainly not the case. In fact Paul, I would argue quite the opposite, very much quite the opposite. I can only assume the circle you mix in is one I would quickly change.
@Pat Coyne: Where have you been hanging out?
@Pat Coyne: You haven’t read this thread obviously.
@Pat Coyne: Then you, sir, are a liar or a recluse.
@Pat Coyne:
Pat – your missing the point. The racists are the snowflakes and butterflies who talk it up and make an issue out of very little.
But they are not stupid. For various self-serving interests they want more immigrants who can be identified by colour. Polish are no good- they look the same as Irish.
With a good number of African and Asian you can set up a support group, get money and support yourself very nicely.
You come from a nice background Daddys in business – you want to displace Irish workers with biddable foreigners who work all hours. The fact that they spend little and send their savings home isn’t your problem.
There is a whole string of self-interested reasons for promoting immigration control as racist, which we now see with the DIrect Provision issue hitching on to it.
We have a 5th colum working within, call them out and see how they like it.
@Pat Coyne: really? Are you deaf and blind? racism exists in all levels of society in the majority of countries in the world.
Read any article about a dp centre opening in a town and you will find comments left right and centre usually along the lines of ” i’m not a racist but…….”
We’re even racist towards our own people, the level of anti Dublin hatred, dislike or whatever you want to call it is huge and vice versa.
Racism will always exist whether we like it or not.
Oh God save us from Ryan and his woke brethren !
@DMC: woke off
He quoted a piece that read n*****. How in the name of God was he supposd to address the issue without actually saying it? I mean for f f s /. To top it off he used the word in favour of anti racism.
Nothing to see here for Godssake
@colm mc sweeney: That makes no sense. Everyone would have known what word he meant if he just hinted at it. There was no advantage to him saying it.
FEAR is typically the primary reason that people don’t use the N word any more. It doesn’t seem to be out of respect or empathy towards a race of people.
It’s as if people of non-Irish descent feel that they don’t need to gain respect from their fellow citizens, that they are entitled to respect by default.
You were not wrong, grow a pair and stand up for yourself.
Because you are not standing up for yourself, I cannot fathom you being in government.
You are not a leader
His apology isn’t enough. He needs to volunteer to be a black families slave for twelve years.
Django Ryan
The greens, a special kind of cult.. creeps.
By the same token all radio stations that use rap songs that use the word should apologize and ban all such songs. First up radio 2.
G0bshite!
Genuine question. Why do black people use this word a lot.?
@Davy: Because they are black and can use it, but only among other black people. It is widely used in the USA and the series ‘Power’ used it about 50 times per episode.
@Davy: good question they use it all the time
@Davy: it’s a double standard, I don’t think anyone should say it.
@Tony Harris: Yes
@Paul Whitehead: So what youre saying is youre comfortable watching some tv show where the word is constantly used, but would be offended if someone you know repeated the word. Got it.
@Davy: Genuine answer: it’s why Irish people jokingly refer to ourselves as Paddies or Micks. Comprendre?
@Pauline Gallagher: I didn’t watch that series due to the language, can’t stand that word being used by anyone
@Niall Byrne: bull, I’ve never heard any of my family or friends use those terms to describe Irish people. They are offensive and derogatory and should not be used
@Niall Byrne: So it’s a joke..?
Part of me thinks that he used the word just so that he could apologize.
@Damon16: he shouldn’t apologise he used the word in a debate about racism…
I find it annoying that those who use it most seem to be the ones offended ….
I’d fell safer using the “n” word than calling an Irish woman pale or very white
The world is losing (has lost?) its collective mind!
He didn’t use the word, he quoted it. And all these outpourings of righteous indignation and sanctimony won’t do a thing to combat racism.
I don’t like black jellybabies… am I a racist
We watched the box series of The Wire in our politically-correct household and it took weeks for us to stop using ‘motherf—-er’ and the N word.
Perhaps there is no magic in any word, only in its usage and quoting some ignorant racist is not the same as using it as an insult.
As a child, the word Jesus had special power and could not be used without bowing the head. Now it is in common usage as an exclamation of surprise.
The context of this has to be taken into account.
Plonker! If that’s his political judgment God help Ireland if he gets his grubby hands on power!!
@Niall Sheridan: He already did and it didn’t work out so well.
Bye bye Eamonn
God anything can make them cry for god sake
it’s time to call stop on everything being seen as racial. The stupidity of making “Gone With The Wind
Racial is wrong. We cannot wipe out history as this teaches us what not to do today
Apology accepted from the Elected Member of OUR Dáil, Now move on.
@James Keogh: turn ablind eye when it suits your agenda . . . Seems to be the trend lately alright
@Nowa Huta: He was quoting from an article on the Irish Times, he unfortunately used letters to fill in where there were asterisk’s,
definitely a mistake and nothing else.
S***le, or to expand SIMPLE
I listened to him say it and thought “nope, he should not of said that”.
Ryan’s only mistake was his apology.
Aimin gets his nickers in a knot now and then
I know the answer. But I’ll ask it anyway,Can anybody please explain the problem with the word?
I knew there was a reason why Eamon hated coal so much.
Lost what respect I had for him for apologising for repeating the remark he was only using to emphasise the point. Too many apologies in politics not enough leadership
Keep back peddling so you can impose your tax regime in government.
He knows that he shouldn’t have ever said it yet he did .an on dail record. Time to get rid of the greens
Are judges allowed to say it? Solicitors, barristers, witnesses, etc?
Rex Kramer , danger seeker
I wonder how many of the people who object to Ryan quoting the word, are in fact non-white. It’s the worst kind of virtue signalling to be outraged at this. Let us fight the real enemy, racism. Eamon Ryan is not racist.
He will go down well with the CARETAKER ADMINISTRATION he is joining
Is there an official list of the banned words?
Obviously Jehovah is banned. Any others?
How about we all lay off Eamon Ryan and concentrate on the real issue …..why was anyone called the n word in the first place. People are using this as a stick to beat Eamon Ryan with and distracting from the issue of racism and racist attitudes in Ireland.
Ryan is an embarrassment to any political party.
He would be a great embarrassment in Government if he was a Minister
Eamon, Don’t fancy your chances with this 1… the mob want victims, especially from the merc and perk brigade
It was in his mind my parents taught all of us not to say that word .We would be in serious trouble with them .How the hell did he say it man no excuse . .
Wow. Just wow. That word actually meant royalty in some african tribes where most of the strong ‘slaves’ with royal blood were stolen from and was used by slave ‘owners’ to demean them. Black Americans reclaimed it and when most say it, it’s not derogatory. But none black peoples have no right to use the word in ANY context.
Those of you saying kids hear it all the time, it’s your job as parents to make sure they don’t listen to explicit lyrics and to teach them not to use it otherwise you’re obviously failing as a parent. This country uses load of curse word but do your kids go around calling everyone a c***?
Y’all need to stop being ignorant and actually take accountability for how you raise your kids and what you say ffs.
A slip of the tongue.
No harm intended.
I am aware of a teacher in England who,lost his job for using the “N” word.
He was teaching Spanish.
The Spanish for Black couloir is “N”
How crazy the world is…… but we still kill babies ….. we call murder…..abortion.
People don’t die anymore…. they “pass away”
Censorship is an attack on the right to freedom of speech. Ppl should never incite racism or hatred nor should they direct it at another member of society.
have your say