The Chinese Ministry of Health explained the new outbreaks of respiratory diseases

Beijing blames combination of common viruses for spreading infections

Clusters of respiratory infections in China are not caused by a new virus, says the Chinese Ministry of Health. The data was provided to the World Health Organization, and Beijing says influenza and other known pathogens are to blame for the outbreak.

A surge in respiratory illnesses in China that has attracted the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by influenza and other known pathogens and not a new virus, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday.

As the Associated Press notes, recent outbreaks of respiratory infections in the country are caused by the overlap of common viruses such as influenza virus, rhinoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus, as well as bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is a common culprit of infections respiratory tract, said a spokesman for the National Health Commission.

The ministry urged local authorities to open more fever clinics and promote vaccination among children and the elderly as China faces a wave of respiratory illnesses in its first full winter since Covid-19 restrictions were eased.

“Efforts should be made to increase the opening of relevant clinics and treatment rooms, extend service hours and increase the supply of medicines,” said Mi Feng, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Health.

He advised people to wear masks and called on local authorities to focus on preventing the spread of disease in crowded places such as schools and nursing homes.

Earlier this week, the WHO formally asked China to provide information on a potentially alarming rise in respiratory illnesses and group pneumonia in children, which was mentioned in several media reports and the global infectious disease watchdog.

The emergence of new strains of influenza or other viruses that can cause pandemics usually begins with undiagnosed groups of respiratory diseases. Both Sars and Covid-19 were first reported as unusual types of pneumonia, the Associated Press recalls.

Earlier this month, Chinese authorities blamed the rise in respiratory illnesses on the lifting of quarantine restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Other countries have also seen a surge in respiratory diseases such as RSV since pandemic restrictions ended.

WHO said Chinese health officials provided the requested data during a teleconference on Thursday. It showed an increase in children being hospitalized for illnesses including bacterial infections, RSV, influenza and cold viruses since October.

Chinese officials have maintained that the surge in patients has not overwhelmed the country’s hospitals, according to the World Health Organization.

The UN health agency rarely publicly requests more detailed information from countries, as such requests are usually made domestically. The WHO said it had requested additional data from China through an international legal mechanism.

Outbreaks have overwhelmed some hospitals in northern China, including Beijing, and health authorities have asked the public to take children with less severe symptoms to clinics and other facilities, according to internal reports in China.

WHO said there is currently too little information to properly assess the risk of these reported cases of respiratory illness in children.

Both Chinese authorities and the WHO were accused of a lack of transparency in their initial reports of the Covid-19 pandemic, which began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, the Associated Press recalls.