At a press conference on November 13, Chinese authorities from the National Health Commission reported an increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases in China.
China reported an outbreak of a pneumonia-like illness, which has caused hospitals to become overwhelmed. The illness, stemming from the flu and other known winter bugs, is wreaking havoc in the country's capital, Beijing.
On November 22, WHO requested additional epidemiologic and clinical information, as well as laboratory results from these reported clusters among children, through the International Health Regulations mechanism.
The increase in recent cases appeared to be driven by a rise in the number of children contracting pathogens that two years of Covid restrictions have kept them away from, according to WHO officials.
A top World Health Organization official has said the spike in respiratory illnesses that China is currently facing is not as high as before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last week, WHO requested information about recent trends in the circulation of known pathogens including influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and mycoplasma pneumoniae, and the current burden on health care systems.
Chinese Health officials blamed the influenza virus, rhinoviruses, the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, the adenovirus as well as bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumonia for the spread of the illness
Experts argue that the increase in recent cases appeared to be driven by a rise in the number of children contracting pathogens that two years of Covid restrictions have kept them away from. And they ruled out a novel virus, such as the one that sparked the Covid-19 pandemic.