China's surge in respiratory cases: A prelude to another pandemic?

Northern China is witnessing a rapid increase in respiratory cases, impacting not just children but also adults. There are increasing reports of deaths resulting from this disease, leading to speculation about a potential new pandemic threat, four years after Covid-19 first emerged in the country.

Since mid-October, the country has reported thousands of "flu-like disease" cases, straining pediatric hospitals in Beijing and the Liaoning Province.

Furthermore, NTD has reported increasing deaths linked to this mysterious pneumonia in China. China has finally responded to the World Health Organization's inquiries, stating the rise in infections is due to known infectious agents. However, the country has not provided any specific data on the illnesses and deaths.

In addition to this, there are reports of increasing deaths among people who showed pneumonia symptoms and long lines at crematoriums.

On Monday, the ProMED public disease surveillance system - credited for providing an early warning about mysterious pneumonia cases that eventually became known as Covid-19 - reported that due to a pneumonia outbreak some Chinese hospitals are "overfilled with sick children."

Beijing has since called on hospitals across the country to extend their working hours and establish more clinics to manage the surge in the number of patients.

Chinese authorities attribute this spike in cases to the easing of Covid-related restrictions, the onset of the cold season, and the spread of known pathogens such as influenza, mycoplasmal pneumonia, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid.