Health
What is ‘white lung’ pneumonia, and why is it reportedly on the rise in kids? What parents need to know
Recent reports of “white lung” pneumonia, or “white lung syndrome,” among U.S. children have parents worried their kids could contract yet another pathogen this holiday season.
But “white lung” pneumonia isn’t a thing, experts tell Fortune, and certainly not a medical term. It’s one way to describe the X-rays of some who have pneumonia, which has a number of potential causes. And there is no sign of an unusual upward surge, with rates of pneumonia diagnoses in children sitting around average, according to national health data available to providers.
Pneumonia is an infection of one or both lungs. It causes air sacs to fill up with fluid or pus. And “by definition, [it] causes whiteness in the appearance of the lungs on a chest X-ray,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Fortune.
It’s the most common cause of both pediatric and adult hospital admission in the U.S., with childbirth being the exception for adults. “Every year around the winter season in the United States, pneumonia characteristically rises,” Adalja adds. “There is no evidence that there is any increase prior to seasonal averages currently.”
Pneumonia cases in China unrelated, experts say
Likely behind the trending but misleading “white lung” phrase: a fear that cases of pneumonia of an “unknown origin” among China’s children have spread to European countries and the U.S. But such cases are being fueled by known pathogens like RSV, flu, and mycoplasma pneumonia, experts say. What’s more, the type of X-ray reportedly seen in connection with many Chinese cases has a different appearance: not white, but with “ground-glass opacities,” which can signal more serious illness.
“The first thing everybody feared was they had ‘seen this movie before,’” Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., tells Fortune regarding the World Health Organization’s Nov. 23 announcement about the mysterious cases of pneumonia.
But Chinese authorities provided further information to the WHO and cleared up the matter, Schaffner says, adding that the world may see another winter of increased infections after the lifting of COVID precautions. And there’s certainly more attention paid to infectious disease these days, adds Dr. Steve Morse, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University.
“Everyone’s a little bit on edge because of the pandemic we’ve just had,” Morse tells Fortune. “I think there’s a lesson there, that we may be a little more aware of these things—including things that may not actually be unusual—after the pandemic.”
The concern this season is only for the typical illnesses, experts say—flu, RSV, COVID, and influenza-like illnesses. None are new, and all can lead to pneumonia, as they’ve always been capable of doing.
And while the name “mycoplasma pneumonia” might be new to most, it’s far from a new pathogen. Caused by bacteria, it’s a “common cause of respiratory infection worldwide, with cases appearing year-round in different regions and local outbreaks occurring every few years,” Rajiv Chowdhury, professor of global health at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University in Miami, tells Fortune.
What’s more, current global levels of mycoplasma pneumonia appear to be hovering below pre-pandemic levels, Chowdhury says, citing research recently published in Lancet Microbe.
|
Sources 2/ https://fortune.com/well/2023/12/06/white-lung-pneumonia-syndrome-united-states-china-europe/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos
to request, modification Contact us at Here or [email protected]
 |
 |
 |
