Scientists have raised concern over a mysterious “pneumonia like” illness that has left hospitals in China “overwhelmed with sick children”.
An alert was issued through ProMed – a large surveillance database that monitors disease outbreaks– warning of an epidemic of “undiagnosed pneumonia” in children.
Taiwanese news website FTV News said that children were presenting to hospitals in Beijing and Liaoning – 500 miles northeast – with symptoms including a high fever and inflammation of the lungs, but no cough.
A Beijing citizen told the outlet: “Many, many (children) are hospitalized. They don’t cough and have no symptoms. They just have a high temperature and many develop pulmonary nodules.”
He added: “Now you are not allowed to report to school. If you have any symptoms such as fever, cold, cough and then you are hospitalized, you can ask for leave.”
Local media reported that the lobby of Dalian Children’s Hospital in Liaoning province was also “full of sick children” receiving intravenous drips.
A staff member of the hospital said: “Patients have to wait in line for 2 hours, and we are all in the emergency department and there are no general outpatient clinics.”
The Covid-19 outbreak was initially flagged up to global scientists in late December 2019 via a ProMed alert in late December, which had similarly warned of a respiratory illness sweeping through the city of Wuhan.
An editor’s note posted by ProMed on Wednesday said that the FTV News report suggested a “widespread outbreak of an undiagnosed respiratory illness”.
It added: “It is not at all clear when this outbreak started, as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly. “The report does not say that any adults were affected, suggesting some exposure at the schools. “ProMed awaits more definitive information about the etiology and scope of this concerning illness in China.”
