Respiratory tract infections are more common in winter…

Recently, respiratory tract infections have become more common in winter, and patients often have symptoms such as cough, fever, and lung infection. Whether the above symptoms are viral infection or mycoplasma infection has become a hot topic of public concern. In this regard, Tong Zhaohui, director of the Beijing Institute of Respiratory Diseases, announced the detection rate of his medical institution at a press conference held by the National Health Commission on November 13: From the perspective of the proportion of mycoplasma infection, adults accounted for 5.59% , children accounted for 40.34%; from the perspective of influenza virus infection, the infection proportion of adults was 29.67%, and that of children was 4.94%.

So, what is the current situation of the new coronavirus epidemic? Wang Dayan, director of the National Influenza Center, introduced at the meeting that the overall epidemic situation of new coronavirus infections in my country has recently shown a fluctuating downward trend. Since late August this year, the number of reported new coronavirus infection cases across the country has been declining for 10 consecutive weeks.

“Influenza A and B viruses, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, metapneumovirus, adenovirus, mycoplasma pneumoniae, etc. are all common respiratory pathogens in winter.” Tong Zhaohui said that respiratory viruses, especially influenza viruses, are common in winter. It is more active than summer and spring, leading to a significant increase in the number of infected people. At present, the characteristics of these diseases are the same as in previous years, and the pathogenicity has not increased significantly.

According to the monitoring of the National Influenza Center, my country has entered the influenza season, and influenza A is currently the main type. Tong Zhaohui said that mycoplasma infection will appear in regional cyclical epidemics. Compared with previous years, this year has shown a trend of younger patients, but the condition has not been significantly worsened.

“Monitoring in fever clinics and sentinel hospitals across the country has shown that the positive rate of nucleic acid for the new coronavirus is showing a continuous downward trend.” Wang Dayan said that the new coronavirus mutant strains currently circulating in the world and in China are all Omikeron, and no significant changes in biological characteristics have been found. Systematic surveillance of the new coronavirus is still continuing to follow up on the changing mutant strains.

In addition to the new coronavirus and influenza virus, some pathogens have entered the public view this year, such as mycoplasma, syncytial virus, etc. So, does this mean respiratory infections are on the rise?

In fact, pathogens have not become more “powerful” or more abundant. Tong Zhaohui explained that during the COVID-19 epidemic, the public adopted strict protective measures against respiratory pathogens, and acute respiratory diseases including mycoplasma and viral infections decreased compared with other years. With the normalization of prevention and control, it is normal for the incidence level to return to the pre-epidemic level this year. Taking mycoplasma as an example, global infection surveillance has been at a low level in the past three years. Combined with the epidemiological law of mycoplasma itself, cyclical epidemics will occur every 3 to 7 years, making mycoplasma pneumonia in children an epidemic trend this year. Therefore, individuals should take precautions during high-incidence seasons. Prevention is the key to avoiding infection.

“It is not advisable for parents to give azithromycin to their children by themselves.” In response to the so-called “medication experience” on the Internet, Wang Quan, chief physician of Beijing Children’s Hospital, said at the meeting that mycoplasma infections do account for a certain proportion, but overall, including influenza Viral infections, including respiratory syncytial virus and respiratory syncytial virus, are still one of the main culprits of respiratory diseases in children. Tong Zhaohui also reminded that drugs should be used after confirming the etiology, rather than abusing drugs based on guesswork.

Many experts introduced countermeasures against mycoplasma infections at the meeting. Liu Qingquan, director of the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine target different targets. Combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine with methods such as pediatric massage can effectively shorten the course of the disease and reduce the risk of disease exacerbation. Sichuan, Zhejiang, Henan and other places have successively launched TCM treatment plans for mycoplasma infections, and some hospitals have also proposed their own TCM treatment plans based on ancient prescriptions, agreed prescriptions, and empirical prescriptions. Wang Quan said that the vast majority of children infected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae have mild symptoms and do not need to be hospitalized. However, if the child develops ultra-high fever or fever that lasts for more than three days, is in poor spirits, has difficulty breathing, wheezing, convulsions, vomiting, etc., it is recommended to seek medical treatment in time. .