Mysterious influenza like illness hits China, WHO on alert

China has reported an outbreak of influenza-like illness mostly among children prompting the World Health Organization to seek more details from the country about the mysterious outbreak. According to reports, Chinese hospitals are "overwhelmed with sick children" who have symptoms of respiratory illness. WHO said Chinese authorities from the National Health Commission held a press conference on November 12 and reported an increase in respiratory diseases in the country. They attributed this to the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions.

WHO has made an official request to China for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children," the UN health body said in a statement posted on social media. The WHO said it was unclear if these reports were related to the infections discussed at the authorities' press conference and that it was seeking clarification.The WHO "has also requested additional information on recent trends in the circulation of known pathogens, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that gives rise to Covid-19), RSV affecting infants and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, as well as on the degree of overcrowding in the health system," the statement added. In the meantime, it urged people to take preventative measures, such as vaccination, keeping their distance from the sick, staying at home when ill, regular hand-washing and wearing masks as appropriate. Earlier this week, ProMED, an online medical community that raised questions in late 2019 about an unknown illness circulating in Wuhan that later became COVID-19, noted a growing number of media reports of clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia among children in northern China.