During the COVID-19 pandemic, many children were affected in the USA, like here in a hospital in California. Now, there are increases in admissions to the state of Ohio for other lung diseases.

DLNews Health:

Overcrowded children's wards. Young patients on tubes. Worried parents are wearing masks at the bedside. Cleaners in plague suit scrubbing hallways—chaos, confusion, and fear amid a possible new outbreak. A mysterious wave of illness in China is making the whole world nervous. Who is surprised: the coronavirus pandemic began with similar scenes in Wuhan four years ago...

Some media have already dubbed the respiratory disease, which primarily affects children, “white lung syndrome.” And it reaches other countries...

After initial regional outbreaks in Denmark and other European countries, the increase in lung diseases has now reached the USA! In Warren County near Cleveland (Ohio), 142 cases were recently recorded among children. “This is not only well above the average here, but also meets the definition of an outbreak,” health authorities said.

Masks are being worn more and more in parts of China again.

Worry about deadly winter.

But concerns are growing about a deadly winter, a storm of multiple pathogens. “A kind of catch-up effect increases this after the pandemic when other diseases are more dangerous than usual,” said Paul Haser, chief cardiovascular surgeon at Brookdale Hospital in New York.

Investigations were promptly ordered in Ohio: health experts want to determine precisely what caused the outbreak.

So far, in all the incidents reported worldwide, there is no evidence of new pathogens that cause unknown diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) agrees: Despite overcrowded clinics, no new or unusual pathogens have been discovered in China. However, trust is currently low after the Covid catastrophe with almost seven million deaths.

Children receive intravenous treatment during a respiratory disease outbreak in China.

A mixture of known pathogens is filling clinics with young patients in Ohio.

Various diseases have been diagnosed, including mycoplasma, which causes bacterial lung infections, streptococci, and adenovirus. The average age of patients in Ohio was eight years. “Children are more susceptible to such diseases because they are closer together and are less careful about washing their hands,” says expert Haser.

Alarming reports also came from the US state of Massachusetts: A particularly noticeable increase in a milder form of pneumonia occurred. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not yet identified any “extraordinary events” apart from the two hotspots in the rest of the USA.

A sharp increase in respiratory illnesses is often observed after waves of viral diseases (flu, COVID-19, etc.) have subsided. According to the CDC, “mycoplasma” spikes in infection curves every three to seven years.

Another theory is circulating for the chaotic scenes in China and new regions worldwide: COVID-19 measures make the human immune system more susceptible to pathogens. Children, in particular, were affected to a greater extent by lockdowns.