BEIJING: China’s disease control agency said on Friday it is piloting a surveillance system for pneumonia of unknown origin, with cases of some respiratory diseases expected will increase during winter.
The move to establish a dedicated system is aimed at helping authorities establish procedures to handle unknown pathogens, in contrast to the lower level of preparedness five years ago when the coronavirus was eliminated. The new COVID-19 epidemic appeared for the first time.
The National Disease Control and Prevention Agency will establish a process for laboratories to report and for agencies to report, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing an administration official at a news conference. The Department of Disease Prevention and Control verifies and handles cases.
According to an official statement published on Thursday, data on acute respiratory diseases show an upward trend in the overall number of infections in the week from December 16 to 22.
China may be affected by various respiratory infectious diseases during winter and spring, Kan Biao, another official, said at the press conference. He said without elaborating that the total number of incidents this year will be smaller than last year.
Recently detected cases include pathogens such as rhinovirus and human metapneumovirus, in which cases of human metapneumovirus infection in people under 14 years of age tend to increase, especially in the Northern provinces.
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In a recent interview with the state-backed National Business Daily, a respiratory expert at a hospital in Shanghai warned the public against blindly using antiviral drugs to fight metapneumovirus. In humans, the virus has no vaccine but has cold-like symptoms.
It may be recalled that during last winter, a deadly pneumonia epidemic broke out across Punjab, killing more than 500 children in four months.
The rate of reported pneumonia cases is so high that hospitals in the province receive about 600 patients per day. Similarly, the mortality rate is also scary with more than 10 children dying of pneumonia in 24 hours.
Vaccination remains one of the most effective preventative measures against pneumonia and other infectious diseases, providing essential protection for vulnerable children.