Ohio has become the first US state to report a mysterious uptick in pediatric pneumonia as cases surge in China.
The Warren County Health District has reported 142 cases of the illness among children since August, according to a press release.
This is above the county average and meets the Ohio Department of Health’s definition of an outbreak.
However, officials do not think it is a new respiratory disease, but “rather a large uptick in the number of pneumonia cases normally seen at one time.”
The illness has spread across multiple school districts and the average age of those fallen ill are eight-year-olds, the local health district said.
There have so far been “no conclusive patterns among the children diagnosed,” but many have symptoms of a cough, fever, and fatigue.
Children are also currently testing positive for mycoplasma pneumonia, strep, adenovirus, which includes the common cold, according to the health district.
The Warren County Health District is investigating any “possible linkages and risk factors.”
The health organization encourages students and their loved ones engage in washing their hands, covering their coughs, and staying home when ill, as well as, staying up to date on vaccines as a precautionary step this winter.
The Post has reached out to the CDC and Warren County Health District for comment.
China has seen a large uptick in pneumonia among children in parts of the country, where hospitals are becoming crowded and having long wait times.
WHO issued an official information request, which seeks “additional epidemiologic and clinical information, as well as laboratory results” from China, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The request itself is routine, but WSJ said it’s “relatively rare” for the United Nations agency to do so publicly.
Some schools in Beijing have also suspended classes that saw high infection rates, WSJ reported.
Other countries, such as Demark and the Netherlands have also reported a rise in pneumonia cases since summer, according to the University of Minnesota.