The Chinese Health Commission on Sunday urged local authorities to increase the number of clinics to treat fever cases at a time when that the country is facing an outbreak of respiratory infections due to “known pathogens.”
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Commission spokesperson Mi Feng said at a press conference that “the increase in acute respiratory infections is related to the simultaneous circulation of several types of pathogens, especially influenza.”
“Efforts should be made to increase the number of clinics and treatment areas, appropriately expand service hours and guarantee the supply of medicines,” said Mi, according to the local press.
He also called for “doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control in key crowded places such as schools, child care institutions and nursing homes, as well as reducing the flow of people and visits.”
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Efforts should be made to increase the number of clinics and treatment areas, appropriately extend service hours, and ensure the supply of medicines.
Cases among children are especially high in the north of the country, such as Beijing or Liaoning province, where hospitals warn of “long waits” to treat patients.
According to Mi, the outbreak is due to “known pathogens” such as seasonal flu, as well as rhinovirus, mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus.
Last week, representatives of the Chinese Health Commission held a videoconference meeting with officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) in which Chinese officials presented data on surveillance and detection of pathogens that cause respiratory diseases. , as well as diagnosis and treatment protocols.
The notification came after the WHO asked China for detailed information about the recent increase in cases of respiratory diseases and outbreaks of childhood pneumonia.
The Chinese authorities already asked last Thursday to strengthen primary care and coordination between hospitals to face the increase in cases of respiratory infections.
According to an official from the National Health Commission cited by the official Xinhua agency, the agency has issued a series of measures to “improve the capacity for diagnosis and treatment of common respiratory infections in community health centers and hospitals,” as well as as to “facilitate the identification and referral of serious cases.”
The agency issued these recommendations after Chinese health authorities reported an increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases in the country, something they attributed in part to the lifting of preventive measures against covid-19 at the beginning of this year.
EFE
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