Doctors and emergency rooms across Canada have said they are seeing an unusual rise in walking pneumonia cases, particularly in children, but what about here in Ontario?
Walking pneumonia, formally known as mycoplasma pneumoniae, is a mild form of the bacteria, and presents symptoms like a fever or cough. These cases are not monitored by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) or the Public Health Ontario (PHO), as they are not reportable.
Dr. Allan Grill, the chief of family medicine at Markham Stouffville Hospital, said, however, that, anecdotally, he and his colleagues have been seeing an increase in cases of walking pneumonia.
“What is interesting, though, is that the ER sort of started the signal and said, ‘Not only are we seeing more cases, but we’re actually seeing more cases in kids under age five,’” Grill explained. “Usually, mycoplasma and pneumonia, anyone can get it, but typically it’s five and up, school-age kids, but they were seeing cases in younger kids.”
Grill said he diagnosed three kids with pneumonia in just one week, about two weeks ago, which he confirmed by chest X-ray.
“Even though there’s not an official surveillance program, we’ve been hearing about it. We’re seeing it anecdotally in our offices,” Grill said. “We know there’s more cases of it going around.”
But why are we seeing more cases in young children?
“At the beginning of the pandemic, when we were doing all the public health restrictions, a lot of people were not exposed to common bacteria and viruses that we see in the community,” Grill said, noting mycoplasma as one of them.
“You have a whole cohort of people, including young kids that were never exposed. So, now, we have a situation where we’re having a bit of a cyclical increase of mycoplasma, which happens.”
Several emergency departments across the country are seeing a surge in patients right now, Tammy DeGiovanni, senior vice president of clinical services and chief nursing executive at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), told CTVNews.ca.
Typically, CHEO’s emergency department sees roughly 150 patients a day – a number DeGiovanni says has nearly doubled over the last week, climbing to 200 and 250 daily.
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in October a rise in walking pneumonia over the last six months, particularly seen in young children.
Though Michael Garron Hospital and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children did not provide numbers, both confirmed to CTV News Toronto via email that it has seen a rise, or is aware of, of pneumonia cases this season – more compared to this same time last year. PHO said in a statement that it conducts a portion of mycoplasma pneumoniae testing in the province but could not provide any details at this time.
What symptoms should I look out for?
Grill says parents who have children displaying respiratory tract symptoms, such as a cough, fever, or runny nose, can bring them to their primary care provider.
If a child has a fever that lasts more than five days, Grill says that must be assessed as oftentimes that can be a sign of bacterial infection. Same with symptoms like lethargy, shortness of breath or loss of appetite.
How does pneumonia spread?
Mycoplasma spreads easily, Grill said, as it can be transferred through respiratory droplets, like when someone coughs or sneezes.
“If you’re in a crowded space, it’s easy to pick it up,” Grill said. “So a crowded space could be a household with numerous people, it could be a school, it could be a daycare – any of those places.”
To prevent the spread, Grill said to wash your hands, especially before eating, cough or sneeze into your sleeves, and if you’re sick, stay at home.
“Give yourself some time. Once your fever is gone for 24 hours, you’re starting to feel better, that’s usually the time where you can go back,” Grill said.
The family doctor also urges parents to ensure their children are up-to-date with their publicly-funded vaccines, like the flu shot.
“If you can do something to prevent getting sick in the first place with a virus, it actually also protects you and decreases your risk of getting bacterial infections like mycoplasma pneumoniae,” Grill said.
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Christl Dabu and The Canadian Press