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More NJ kids have walking pneumonia

It's usually mild, but hospital cases are rising

By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... New Jersey is seeing a larger number of cases of walking pneumonia, especially among children, just as influenza, COVID and other respiratory diseases are expected to begin their seasonal rise, health experts said.
..... Official known as mycoplasma pneumonia, walking pneumonia gets its nickname because the symptoms are mild enough for most people to avoid being bedridden.
..... But not everyone is that fortunate. New Jersey hospitals have seen an uptick in emergency room visits and admissions, mirroring a national trend.
..... "We always see this in our emergency department, but it's definitely a higher proportion this year," [2024] said Dr. Stefen Hagmann, head of pediatric infectious diseases at Hackensack University Medical Center. "Some patients are coming in sicker than what we normally expect."
..... There is no clear answer to why the numbers are up this year, [2024] experts says. Possible reasons include the cyclical nature of disease outbreaks along with the lack of immunity in children who were not exposed to the bacteria during the COVID-19 pandemic.
..... "We can blame it all on COVID," Hagmann said. "the possibility of infection is there all the time. It's question of whether there is an immunity to it."
..... Young children are becoming infected at a greater rate than in prior years. National hospital discharge data shows that the percentage of cases among children ages 2 to 4 increased from 1.0% to 7.2% from Mach 31 to Octobre5. [2024]
..... The percentage grew from 3.6% to 7.4% among children ages 5 to 17 years during the same time, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How bad is the spread in New Jersey?

..... Although helaht officials say they are "observing an increase in reports" of walking pneumonia, it is difficult to gauge how widespread the disease is in New Jersey.
..... Unlike other respiratory diseases, there are no requirements to report individual cases of walking pneumonia to the state Health Department.
..... Influenza, COVID, RSV and other similar diseases are reported regularly to the department, which summarizes the findings in a weekly report.
..... Still there was enough evidence for the Health Department to issue a bulletin on October 30 [2024] to health care providers local health departments and others, advising them of the increase and offering instructions on what to do.
..... Health officials are urging schools, day care centers, nursing homes and other facilities to report disease clusters to their municipal or county health departments.

What are the symptoms?

..... It acts like other respiratory diseases: dry cough, fever, sore throat, fatigue.
..... "It's very unspecific," Hagmann said. "Patients often have a prolonged cough that's not improving. that's when parents will often take their children to see us."

How is walking pneumonia treated?

..... This is where it gets a little tricky.
..... There is no quick test for muycoplasma pneumonia. It needs laboratory confirmation, so it can be misdiagnosed.
..... Doctors often prescribe the antibiotic amoxicillin to children, beveling they may have a general bacterial lung infection. but mycoplasma pneumonia is resistant to amoxicillin, and parents sometimes take their kids back to a doctor when the symptoms don't get better.
..... Azithromycin, another antibiotic, is effective against mycoplasma pneumonia and is usually given in a five-day dose.

What is the status of other respiratory diseases?

..... New Jersey has so far had a mild start to the flu and respiratory illness season.
..... Influenza and COVID transmissions were low statewide as of November 9, [2024] the latest Heath Department report said.
..... That marks a big change form two years ago, when the flu spread much earlier and peaked in November.
..... The number of emergency room visits and hospital admissions due to RSV, another common respiratory virus, had increased in early November, the report said.
..... all three diseases tend to peak form mid-December to early January after holiday gatherings and travel, where the risk of transmission is greater.

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