An alarming health alert has been raised in Europe with the detection of pneumonia cases caused by bacteria initially found in China. According to the Czech Republic’s Deputy Health Minister, Jakub Dvořáček, these bacteria-induced pneumonia cases have made their way to Europe.
Cases have been reported from France, the Netherlands, and other countries. It is challenging to differentiate whether the disease is caused by this particular bacteria or another one common in the Czech Republic. “What we see in hospitals are no signals of an increase or the emergence of an epidemic,” added Dvořáček.
Chinese authorities attribute the rise in undiagnosed pneumonia cases among children to the removal of restrictions related to COVID-19 and other commonly occurring viruses. The open monitoring system, ProMED, presumes that many cases are caused by Mycoplasma pneumonia, a common bacterial infection that typically affects younger children.
However, the symptoms of the currently occurring disease are not entirely typical for a Mycoplasma pneumonia infection. As the National Health Institute (SZÚ) reminded us, cough is not reported in cases where there is a high temperature and nodules on the chest X-ray.
According to the National Health Institute, there has been an increased incidence of Mycoplasma pneumonia since September, primarily among children aged 2 to 15 years in France. As of the beginning of this week, three cases have been recorded in the Czech Republic for the year, although experts suspect a higher actual incidence.