Frightening Rise in Lung Infections Among Children, Alert US Officials

United States: Colorado has begun to see an increase in walking pneumonia this fall, especially among children who are not usually considered to be as vulnerable to getting the disease, according to health authorities.

Infections with bacteria that lead to mild lung infection resurged across the country this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, reaching a high in August from a sharp rise in May, CDC data indicate.

More about the news

In Colorado, walking pneumonia cases begin a little later, in September, although the illness is still projected to remain widespread through the New Year, according to Dr. Kevin Messacar, an infectious disease physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

They also are diagnosing it more in children aged 2 to 4, even though infections in the past were more common in school-age kids, he said.

“What we are seeing now is a several-fold increase than what we typically see,” Messacar added, as denverpost.com reported.

About the disease

The walking pneumonia resulting from Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria is contagious through respiratory droplets produced when an affected individual sneezes or coughs.

However, as experts believe, Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections – do not spread through families like other diseases, including the flu, and may take weeks to cycle through the entire family.

The bacteria can be stopped from spreading through hand washing, and if a person has a cough or sneezing, they have to cover their mouth and nose, says the CDC.

It is less dangerous than other forms of pneumonia, and symptoms perhaps include fever, stage three, chills and rashes, sore throat, etc.

The illness is called walking pneumonia because those infected with the illness may not be confined to bed or even home due to the less severe symptoms, the CDC states.

However, severe cases may cause hospitalization, according to Messacar.

Additional cases include headaches, including migraines, that are persistent or recurring, as well as upper respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and sinusitis, which entails hospitalization, said Messacar, as denverpost.com reported.

Officials don’t know the precise extent of walking pneumonia in Colorado — or how many children have been hospitalized — because the disease is not routinely tested for.

Recently, a 3-year-old in Colorado was admitted to the hospital because of walking pneumonia as the main complaint.