China: Rapid increase in respiratory infections among children, is immunity insufficient due to "zero corona"?

In China, the number of patients with respiratory infections is increasing, especially among children, and the Chinese government has expressed the view that it is caused by multiple pathogens, mainly influenza, but also common cold viruses. Chinese experts point out that one of the causes of the epidemic is that many people do not have sufficient immunity to various infectious diseases due to thorough infection control measures under the "zero COVID" policy.

Since last month, there has been a sharp increase in the number of patients with respiratory infections in China, especially among children, and the number of children being examined at hospitals in Japan has been conspicuous.

Among them, at the main pediatric hospital in the center of Beijing, children wearing masks were seen visiting the fever outpatient clinic one after another on the morning of the 29th.

At a press conference on the 26th of this month, the National Health Commission, China's health authority, explained that influenza is the center of the epidemic, and that multiple pathogens such as "rhinovirus", which is a normal cold virus, and "mycoplasma pneumonia", which is characterized by symptoms such as fever and cough, are involved in the increase in patients.

In addition, WHO = World Health Organization says that there was a report from the Chinese authorities that 'no new pathogen has been detected.'

Chinese health authorities are urging people to take regular infection control measures, such as getting vaccinated and wearing masks.

Pediatric Clinic in Beijing has many patients

On the morning of the 29th, at the main pediatric hospital in the center of Beijing, many children who were sick with fever and other illnesses were seen and their parents accompanying them.

At this hospital, there are two dedicated treatment rooms on the first floor for administering intravenous drips to children who have a fever due to respiratory infections such as influenza, but both were almost full.

The hospital was crowded with children wearing masks and their parents waiting for medical examinations and treatment, and many children were seen lying on long chairs in a limp manner.

In China, it is said that patients tend to crowd into relatively large hospitals when they get sick.

For this reason, many people line up at large hospitals even before the hospital opens to receive a numbered ticket to receive a medical examination as soon as possible, and before the spread of the new coronavirus infection and restrictions on behavior by the authorities, many people came to the hospital every time influenza and other epidemics were confused.

For this reason, state media have called on patients with mild symptoms to recuperate at home, in the opinion of experts.

Parents of infected children: "Fever is 41 to 42 degrees Celsius at its highest"

A mother who said her 5-year-old daughter had mycoplasma pneumonia said, "My daughter had symptoms for a month from October to November, and the intravenous drip was administered for half a month.

In addition, the mother said that the cause of the infection was "I may have been infected because I went out to a place where people were crowded without wearing a mask," and the movement restrictions associated with the spread of the new coronavirus infection have disappeared, and I was able to move freely.

And about the situation at the kindergarten that her daughter attends, she said, "There were times when many children developed the disease and almost no one went to the kindergarten, and if you had a red throat or cough symptoms, the kindergarten teachers urged you to rest at home."

In addition, a father whose daughter attends kindergarten has the flu said, "At first, the symptoms were so severe that I couldn't get up and sit down with no strength in my whole body. We have no choice but to take precautions and disinfect."

Classes closed at Japan schools in Beijing

At Japan schools in Beijing, the number of children complaining of fever and poor health has increased, and as of March 29, four classes in elementary school and one class in junior high school have been closed.

Chinese expert: "Is it because there are many people who do not have sufficient immunity?"

In an interview with the state-run China Central Television, Wu Weiwei, a professor at Nanjing University's School of Medicine, who is an expert on infectious diseases, said of the increase in the number of patients with respiratory infections, "Normally, respiratory infections such as influenza and mycoplasma pneumonia increase in winter. He pointed out that one of the reasons may be that many people do not have sufficient immunity to various infectious diseases due to thorough infection control measures under the "zero corona" policy.

"The problem is that the medical system will be overwhelmed by the large number of patients crowded into hospitals, and there is a risk of the spread of infection in hospitals," Professor Wu said, pointing out that patients with mild symptoms need to be encouraged to recuperate at home.