Increase of respiratory illnesses among children in Beijing, China, during the autumn and winter of 2023
Gong Cheng, Fang Huang, Luodan Suo, Xuejiao Guan, Lu Kang, Hui Xie, Geng Hu, Peng Yang, Quanyi Wang
Abstract
In 2023, through an ongoing respiratory pathogen surveillance system, we observed from mid-September onwards, an increase of respiratory illness among children aged ≤ 15 years presenting at hospital outpatient clinics in Beijing, China. Data indicated that illness was caused by multiple pathogens, predominantly Mycoplasma pneumoniae . Seasonality, periodicity and high prevalence of resistance to macrolide (30 of 30 strains sequenced with the A2063G mutation) were important characteristics of the M. pneumoniae epidemic, which resulted in a rise in consultations at specialised paediatric hospitals.
Topics & Concepts
BeijingMycoplasma pneumoniaeMedicineRespiratory illnessChinaPediatricsOutpatient clinicOutpatient visitsRespiratory systemEnvironmental healthInternal medicinePneumoniaGeographyHealth careEconomic growthArchaeologyEconomicsPneumonia and Respiratory InfectionsRespiratory viral infections researchBacterial Infections and Vaccines