Cases of "mysterious pneumonia" that first appeared in China now seem to be being identified beyond Beijing.
According to reports, in addition to health authorities in China, teams in Europe and the US are also on standby as the number of patients showing symptoms is increasing.
So far, it seems that the dominant age group is children and teenagers. Doctors are referring to the cases in question as "white lung syndrome."
In many areas, the cause is mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacterium that usually causes mild infections, but spreads rapidly, writes the British newspaper "Daily Express", an expert looking at the situation in China has spoken of "white lung syndrome".
Regarding the clinical appearance, with a simple X-ray, white spots indicating areas of inflammation can be distinguished in the lung of patients. These in turn cause excessive accumulation of fluid in the lungs. For this reason, the pneumonia syndrome got this name.
Some epidemiologists in the US have also argued that the high number of cold and flu cases may be due to restrictions on the coronavirus that prevented people from developing natural immunity.
The Chinese newspaper Global Times, which is close to the communist regime, acknowledged that hospitals are facing increased flows. However, the pressure on the health system is not the same as it was during the pandemic.
After China and Europe, an increase in cases and hospitalizations of children and teenagers with white lung syndrome has been found, while in recent hours the American health authorities are advising citizens and hospitals to be on alert.
The Netherlands is facing a serious wave of pneumonia cases in children. In the US, first Ohio and then Massachusetts reported seeing more and more cases of this pneumonia.
An epidemic of "mysterious pneumonia" has also broken out in several European countries, such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. This respiratory disease, as doctors point out, is transmitted through coughing, sneezing, talking, singing and breathing microscopic droplets.