Viral pneumonia in China: from surveillance to response
Lianhan Shang, Jiuyang Xu, Bin Cao
Abstract
Community acquired pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections are major health issues in China and around the world. For a long time, bacteria have been considered as the major pathogen for community acquired pneumonia among immunocompetent adults. Viral causes of pneumonia have received attention in children and immunocompromised adults, but have received insufficient attention in the immunocompetent adult population. In the past 20 years, the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), influenza A H1N1, influenza A H7N9, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of viral causes of community acquired pneumonia. Monitoring the circulating and emerging viruses that cause community acquired pneumonia and implementing rapid and timely responses are necessary public health tasks.