WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – In light of an outbreak of an unknown respiratory disease, international health officials have advised people in China to wear masks, avoid social situations, and stay at home if they are ill.
According to the Daily Mail, hospitals in Liaoning, a province 500 miles northeast of the capital, and Beijing have reported cases of “undiagnosed pneumonia.”
Local news sources state that health facilities are “overwhelmed with sick children” and that classes are about to be suspended.
Children who are infected are showing signs of lung inflammation and high fever. Still, they are not coughing or exhibiting other symptoms that might indicate the flu, RSV, or other respiratory infections.
The Daily Mail further reports that residents have been advised by the World Health Organization (WHO) to cover their faces, avoid contact with sick individuals, and stay at home if they are ill. Furthermore, ‘specific information’ regarding the outbreak is to be shared by the renowned secretive country.
Experts were awaiting additional examination of the outbreak, according to Dr. Simon Clarke, a cellular microbiologist at the University of Reading, who spoke with MailOnline saying, “There are lots of germs which can cause a patient’s lungs to become inflamed and as the northern hemisphere moves towards winter, they are likely to become more prevalent.”
“We don’t yet have confirmation of what is causing this outbreak in China, it may be something new or it may be a new version of something we’ve encountered before,” he continued.
China has been under fire in the past for downplaying the COVID pandemic in late 2019 and the first SARS epidemic in 2003, both of which were caused by new viruses that caused pneumonia.
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