Chinese health officials have told the World Health Organization that the cause of the respiratory illness in children is a pathogen, raising concerns that a novel virus may be the cause after reports of an increase in cases.
The China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Beijing Children’s Hospital told the World Health Organization on Thursday that outpatient visits and hospitalizations have increased due to outbreaks of Mycoplasma pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus and influenza. The strain is earlier than it has historically been, but it’s not unexpected given the steepness of the Covid curve, health officials said in a teleconference.