Cases of Walking Pneumonia Reach 8-Year High in Japan
Mycoplasma pneumonia, also known as "walking pneumonia," typically affects children under the age of 14. The main symptoms are fever, tiredness, and a persistent cough.
What’s new: The number of mycoplasma pneumonia cases in Japan has increased for the past six consecutive weeks, reaching the highest level in eight years. Since the incubation period is as long as two to three weeks and people can spread it to others simply by walking around, mycoplasma pneumonia is also known as "walking pneumonia."
Why it matters: Mycoplasma pneumonia, whose main symptoms are fever, malaise, and persistent cough, is common in children under 14 years of age.
The incubation period is usually 2 to 3 weeks. A cough often begins 3 to 5 days after the onset of the initial symptoms, with a dry cough at first, but becomes progressively more severe over time and continues long after the fever is gone (3 to 4 weeks). Especially in older children and adolescents, the cough often becomes wet in the later stages of the disease. Nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and itching are not typical of this disease but are more common in young children. Hoarseness, earache, sore throat, gastrointestinal symptoms, and chest pain occur in about 25% of cases, and rashes occur in 6-17%. Asthma-like bronchitis is relatively common, with wheezing in 40% of patients in the acute phase.
In rare cases, mycoplasma pneumonia can be fatal.
While most cases are mild and resolve on their own, complications can occur, especially in individuals with weakened immune systems or underlying health conditions.
Definitive diagnosis requires isolation of mycoplasma from the patient's throat swab and sputum, which is not difficult if the appropriate culture media and experience are available. However, as this takes at least a week, this method is not suitable for routine diagnosis. Recently, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method has been developed for rapid diagnosis and is useful clinically, but the number of facilities where it can be performed is limited.
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Mycoplasma is a very special pathogen, somewhere between a bacterium and a virus. Mycoplasma pneumonia is often treated with antibiotics, especially macrolides such as azithromycin, erythromycin, or clarithromycin. These antibiotics can help shorten the course of the disease and reduce the risk of complications. However, many cases of mycoplasma pneumonia resolve on their own without antibiotic treatment.
Go deeper: Sometimes children can pass the disease on to their parents, as was recently the case at Miwata Pediatrics in Nishi Ward, Nagoya. There, a 9-year-old fourth-grade boy and his mother visited the clinic on August 21, 2024. Although the boy did not have a fever, both parent and child suffered from coughing and other symptoms.
"There is something tickling in my throat. A tickling pain. My sister gave it to me." - 9-year-old patient at Miwata Pediatrics
X-rays of another child diagnosed with mycoplasma pneumonia at the same clinic show a white opacity over the area causing the pneumonia.
"There are children who develop pneumonia due to severe coughing, so I want them to take their medicine on schedule. It is contagious, but mycoplasma pneumonia is not as easily spread as Covid." - Dr. Shunsuke Miwata counsels a young girl's grandmother at his clinic
While mycoplasma pneumonia can occur year-round, cases typically peak in the fall and winter. This is likely due to increased indoor activity and closer proximity to others during these seasons, which can facilitate the spread of the bacteria. The most common mode of transmission is through close contact between friends.
By the numbers: Especially for the summer, the number of cases in Japan this year is somewhat alarming.
Overall Caseload: The number of cases reported nationwide has increased for six consecutive weeks, reaching 1.14 cases per medical facility for the week ending August 11, exceeding "1" for the first time in eight years.
Regional Spike near Nagoya: The number of patients in the three Tokai prefectures also showed an increasing trend, with 2.07 cases in Aichi, 1.22 cases in Mie, and 3.20 cases in Gifu, far exceeding the national average.
Global Statistics: Data from incidence surveys conducted in Europe and the United States indicate that 5-10% of the susceptible population is generally affected annually.
What’s next: According to the Surveillance of Infectious Disease Outbreaks in Japan, the number of reported cases typically increases from late fall to early spring, and the affected age groups are mainly infants, schoolchildren, and adolescents. Isolated cases of the pathogen peak at 7 to 8 years of age. Therefore, this summer's spike in cases may simply be a prelude to a larger outbreak in the fall.
There are no specific preventive measures, and during epidemics, general precautions such as hand washing and gargling and avoiding close contact with patients should be practiced.
Take your child to your pediatrician if you have any questions.
Links to Japanese Sources: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/1c784f2d28ad4573131383617f27732fadcbbb78 and https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/ja/kansennohanashi/503-mycoplasma-pneumoniae.html.
#MycoplasmaPneumonia #WalkingPneumonia #fever #malaise #tiredness #cough #antibiotics #マイコプラズマ肺炎 #発熱 #倦怠感 #咳 #抗生物質
As a preventive measure, I'd suggest not wearing masks, which are well known to promote upper-respiratory tract infections (and are completely ineffective at stopping viruses passing in either direction):
https://ratical.org/PandemicParallaxView/MasksAreHarmful-Meehan2020.html
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full
https://www.naturalscience.org/news/2020/12/the-health-risks-of-face-masks/
https://expose-news.com/2022/07/14/consequences-prolonged-mask-use-only-beginning-understood/
Furthermore, using a PCR test to diagnose any illness is fraudulent. Shame on them. Not only are PCR tests used as diagnostic tools fraudulent, they can also be fatal:
Inventor explains why his PCR test is not a diagnostic test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJq05xUT1Cw
"Dr. Vernon Coleman: How the PCR Test Has Killed Millions – And Is Still Killing!"
https://lionessofjudah.substack.com/p/dr-vernon-coleman-how-the-pcr-test?utm_source=publication-search
https://expose-news.com/2022/01/15/fauci-admits-pcr-test-cannot-detect-infection/
https://www.globalresearch.ca/covid19-pcr-tests-scientifically-meaningless/5717253
Olympics years disease…….4 yr cycle