{"id":122190,"date":"2024-11-05T03:38:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T20:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=122190"},"modified":"2024-11-05T03:38:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T20:38:18","slug":"walking-pneumonia-in-kids-what-doctors-in-canada-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=122190","title":{"rendered":"Walking pneumonia in kids: What doctors in Canada say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tChildren\u2019s hospitals across the country are seeing an unusual increase in the number of serious and more complicated cases of walking pneumonia affecting much younger patients, according to medical experts.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tDr. Earl Rubin says he\u2019s seeing more children who are needing treatment for <a href=\"https:\/\/montreal.ctvnews.ca\/walking-pneumonia-cases-on-the-rise-in-quebec-1.7087435\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">walking pneumonia<\/a> at the Montreal Children&#8217;s Hospital.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe disease is common in children and it\u2019s usually a milder form of pneumonia, the division director of pediatric infectious diseases said, but more of them are getting a serious form of the disease.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe rise of severe walking pneumonia at Montreal Children&#8217;s Hospital reflects what\u2019s being seen across Canada and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/health\/cases-of-walking-pneumonia-are-surging-in-u-s-kids-this-year-cdc-reports-1.7087372\">United States<\/a>, Rubin said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca this week.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tDoctors say Mycoplasma pneumonia, known informally as walking pneumonia, is common in school-age children. The contagious pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria can require treatment for those who experience more severe symptoms, such as breathing problems, they added.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tInfectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch said Canada is likely seeing the same trends as the United States, with infections typically seen during fall.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#8220;There likely is more of it around now than in past years,&#8221; Bogoch, who is based at the Toronto General Hospital, said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Thursday. &#8220;Certainly, if the United States is reporting more of it, there&#8217;s likely to be more of it here in Canada as well.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tLike other respiratory infections, he said, mycoplasma infections and outbreaks are a clinical and public health concern in Canada.<\/p>\n<h2>&#13;<br \/>\n\tNew trends with walking pneumonia<\/h2>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tRubin said he and his colleagues from other children&#8217;s hospitals nationwide have observed some patterns with the illness, but that some things are different this year.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\u201cWhat&#8217;s happening now is that we are seeing that same spectrum of illness, but in younger kids &#8212; infants, toddlers &#8212; which is unusual,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It always happened, but not as commonly as we&#8217;re seeing now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe cases are also more serious than before, he added, with some children needing oxygen as part of their treatment.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tMoreover, children&#8217;s hospitals are seeing a number of different symptoms of the illness, he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#8220;We call it the great imitator,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It can cause a multitude of different symptoms &#8212; it can cause rashes, heart issues, brain issues. They&#8217;re all rare.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tHe said the reasons behind the trends seen this year are uncertain.<\/p>\n<h2>&#13;<br \/>\n\tNational data not tracked<\/h2>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tWalking pneumonia isn&#8217;t a reportable disease so it&#8217;s not tracked in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says it does not monitor this specific disease, though it monitors other respiratory illnesses in Canada and reports the trends in the Respiratory Virus Detection Surveillance System Report, the FluWatch+ Surveillance Program and the COVID-19 epidemiology update.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIt\u2019s hard to do tests, Rubin said. The information about the trends he has observed is anecdotal, based on his discussions with his colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tBecause more cases have emerged, there&#8217;s a backlog in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yalemedicine.org\/news\/walking-pneumonia#:~:text=Therefore%2C%20walking%20pneumonia%20is%20often,with%20a%20chest%20X%2Dray.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tests<\/a> and delays in getting results, he said. Patients can get diagnosed through various <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountsinai.org\/health-library\/diseases-conditions\/atypical-pneumonia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">methods<\/a>, such as nose swabs, throat swabs, blood tests, measuring oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, a physical exam or a chest X-ray, according to health experts.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tSpecialized polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are more commonly available for those at the hospital, Rubin added.<\/p>\n<h2>&#13;<br \/>\n\tCases may dip as winter approaches<\/h2>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tWith no national data available, CTVNews.ca reached out to doctors at children\u2019s hospitals for a glimpse at what they\u2019re seeing.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe number of walking pneumonia cases spiked in recent months at McMaster Children\u2019s Hospital in Hamilton, Ont., but may decrease as winter approaches, pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Jeffrey Pernica said.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tSince the COVID-19 pandemic, few cases were identified at the hospital, but the situation changed in late spring, Pernica said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tHe said there were periodic mini outbreaks of the lung infection before the pandemic&#8217;s lockdowns, masking and restrictions on human contact prevented infections.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tPernica said that he observed more children being hospitalized with the illness at the hospital this year. Cases started to grow in May and June, he said, peaking in September.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tPositivity rates are still higher than normal at the end of October, Pernica said.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tEven with an unusually high number of cases now, he expects the illness to wane while respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/health\/is-it-a-cold-or-flu-these-are-the-most-common-symptoms-1.7087254\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">influenza<\/a> are projected to surge during winter.<\/p>\n<h2>&#13;<br \/>\n\tCases in B.C.<\/h2>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tB.C. is seeing more walking pneumonia infections than in previous years, most notably among people under 20 years old, according to data provided from BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and BC Children\u2019s Hospital in an email to CTVNews.ca on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThey cited data from Canadian Sentinel Practitioner Surveillance Network, the BCCDC\u2019s Public Health Laboratory and BC Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n<h2>&#13;<br \/>\n\tCases elsewhere in Canada<\/h2>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIn Halifax, a major women&#8217;s and children&#8217;s hospital reported it has also seen walking pneumonia cases jump. It soared from 11 last year to 113 as of this September, an IWK Health spokesperson said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIn Winnipeg, HSC Children\u2019s Hospital is seeing a &#8220;significant increase&#8221; in the number of pediatric patients at the emergency department with pneumonia this fall, but the type of pneumonia is unclear, Dr. Karen Gripp, medical director of the emergency department, said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Monday, noting parents should not panic.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThere have been no reports so far from the Saskatchewan Health Authority emergency departments, including Jim Pattison Children\u2019s Hospital, that indicate the illness is widespread, spokesperson James Winkel wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tOntario\u2019s Ministry of Health doesn\u2019t publish data on walking pneumonia since it\u2019s not a reportable disease, it said in an email to CTVNews.ca. on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tQuebec\u2019s Ministry of Health and Social Services is monitoring the rise in infections in some places but current data isn\u2019t concerning, spokesperson Marie-Christine Patry said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tSimilarly, the illness is not a notifiable condition in the Northwest Territories and the territory had no reports about it so far, Andrew Wind, spokesperson for the territory\u2019s Department of Health and Social Services, said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<h2>&#13;<br \/>\n\tWalking pneumonia symptoms<\/h2>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tMany may refer to Mycoplasma pneumonia as walking pneumonia because those who are infected can still function and walk around, Pernica said.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIt can take up to a month before symptoms show up, Rubin said.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIt&#8217;s hard to tell if you have the illness unless you get tested since symptoms are similar to the flu and other respiratory illnesses, such as runny noses, coughs, difficulty breathing and headaches, Pernica added.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe illness isn&#8217;t as severe as other types of bacterial pneumonia such as Streptococcus pneumonia, Pernica said. In fact, most people with walking pneumonia eventually get better on their own, without needing doctors or treatment, he added.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThose with severe walking pneumonia may need supplemental oxygen if they have breathing problems, or IV fluids if they are unable to drink enough liquids, he said. Most patients who are hospitalized need to be treated with antibiotics, he added.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tChildren with medical conditions, such as lung and heart disease, or who have problems with their immune system, are more likely to have more serious symptoms and may be hospitalized, doctors say.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tYou may need medical attention if you have a prolonged fever, have whitish or blue lips, be very sleepy or have difficulty waking up, according to BC Centre for Disease Control and BC Children\u2019s Hospital. A child under three months with a fever may be more vulnerable, they added.<\/p>\n<h2>&#13;<br \/>\n\tWalking pneumonia treatment<\/h2>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIf you have respiratory symptoms that aren\u2019t extreme, Pernica recommends staying home from school or work and limiting contact with others.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tFor many, there is no medicine to help them recover faster, he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#8220;They should be sure to drink enough liquids, take it easy and wait to get better,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<h2>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIs walking pneumonia contagious?<\/h2>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tMycoplasma pneumonia spreads the same way that respiratory viruses spread &#8212; by coughing, being close to other people and sharing air, or touching things with germs on your hands, Pernica said.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tWhile no vaccines can prevent the disease, it\u2019s a good idea to ensure your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/health\/here-s-why-you-should-get-all-your-vaccines-as-soon-as-possible-according-to-an-expert-1.7043119\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vaccines<\/a> are up to date, Dr. Jason Wong, chief medical officer for BCCDC, said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tImmunizations against respiratory viruses like influenza and COVID-19 can help reduce the risk of severe illness from secondary bacterial infections such as from Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes walking pneumonia, Wong said.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.antibioticresearch.org.uk\/ufaq\/what-is-a-secondary-bacterial-infection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">secondary bacterial infection<\/a> occurs when someone becomes susceptible to another infection after a flu-type virus initially weakens the person&#8217;s immune system.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tIf you are unwell and must leave home, it\u2019s best to wear a mask in indoor public spaces, and cough and sneeze into your elbow, he suggested.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/health\/children-s-doctors-reporting-unusual-increase-in-walking-pneumonia-cases-in-canada-1.7094198\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; Children\u2019s hospitals across the country are seeing an unusual increase in the number of serious and more complicated cases of walking pneumonia affecting much younger patients, according to medical &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=122190\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}