Digital Desk: In the wake of an unexplained pneumonia epidemic in China, the Union health ministry announced on November 26 that it has asked state governments to evaluate hospital readiness, underlining that there is "no need for alarm."
“All states and Union territories are advised to implement ‘Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in the context of COVID-19’," it said in a media release.
As per the guidelines, respiratory pathogens that present as influenza-like infections (ILI) and severe acute respiratory diseases need to be closely watched. It is recommended that district and state surveillance units actively monitor trends in ILI/SARI.
According to reports, there has been an increase in respiratory diseases among youngsters in northern China. The health ministry has taken note of these claims and is closely monitoring the situation.
“This is noted to be important in view of the ongoing influenza and winter season that results in an increase in respiratory illness cases. Government of India is closely monitoring the situation and indicated that there is no need for any alarm," it stated.
"All States and Union Territories have been advised to implement 'Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in the context of COVID-19', shared earlier this year, which provides for integrated surveillance of respiratory pathogens presenting as cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI)," Ministry said.
"They have also been asked to ensure that the trends of ILI/SARI should be closely monitored by the district and state surveillance units of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP), particularly of children and adolescents," it added.
According to the Ministry, data from the World Health Organisation has shown a rise in respiratory illnesses in China's northern regions."Common causes including influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, etc. are mostly blamed for this. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that this increase is the result of the COVID-19 regulations being released at the beginning of winter and the recurring pattern of respiratory infections such as Mycoplasma pneumonia. The Health Ministry stated that although WHO has asked Chinese authorities for more information, it is currently determined that there is no reason for concern.
The National Health Commission (NHC) of China declared on November 13 that an increase in respiratory illness cases was caused by the removal of the COVID-19 restrictions, the spread of known pathogens such as influenza and a common bacterial infection that typically affects younger children.
ProMed, a worldwide disease surveillance network, issued a warning on Tuesday about children who could have pneumonia that has gone undiagnosed.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has requested comprehensive data from China about the increase in respiratory illnesses and confirmed cases of paediatric pneumonia.
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