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A spike in cases of pneumonia in children has been reported in China, Denmark, France and the Netherlands linked to a bacteria called Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Other places in the United States do not seem to be experiencing any widespread or pronounced increases in Mycoplasma infections, but it is commonly associated with pneumonia outbreaks every one to three years. The US hasn’t had a real wave of it since before the Covid-19 pandemic, and experts say they wouldn’t be surprised if there was an increase this year.
During the pandemic, European experts monitoring the incidence of Mycoplasma at 45 sites in 24 countries reported that the incidence had started to rise again at the beginning of the year after falling to less than 1%. According to a report published in The Lancet Microbe, there was a fourfold increase on average this summer and fall, with the largest increases occurring in Asia and Europe
CDC reports that the increase in cases in China may be due to resistance to antibiotics used to treat this infection.
A periodic epidemic occurs every few years, especially among school-aged children, said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.
