Cases of walking pneumonia increased in the United States this year, with the largest increase among young children.
The lung infection is caused by a bacteria called Mycoplasma pneumoniae and the infections are generally mild, hence the name.
“People aren’t as sick, they might not be feeling 100%, but they’re still going about their daily business,” said Dr. Vandana Madhavan, clinical director of pediatric infectious disease at Mass General for Children. “They’re walking around, unlike people with typical bacterial pneumonia, who tend to be sicker, might need oxygen support, might be dehydrated, might need to be in the hospital, etc.”
“What’s interesting about mycoplasma is that it doesn’t just cause pneumonia, despite the name mycoplasma pneumoniae, but it can cause a number of different illnesses,” Madhavan continued. “There’s certain presentations with rashes and oral sores. It can even cause encephalitis and inflammation in the brain.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections can occur at any age, but they most often occur among children ages 5–17 and young adults. Since late spring, the number of these infections has been increasing, especially among young children. The percentage grew from 1% to 7.2% among children ages 2–4 and from 3.6% to 7.4% among children ages 5–17 in that timeframe.
The increase in children ages 2–4 is notable because historically, Mycoplasma pneumoniae hasn’t been recognized as a leading cause of pneumonia in this age group.
“We have seen increased cases, not just of what we think about with walking pneumonia in school-age and teenage kids, but we’ve seen younger kids who are presenting, with pneumonia that’s not responding to typical pneumonia treatment,” said Madhavan. “It’s something that we definitely want people to be aware of. Especially as school years are in full swing, kids are in activities, we’re getting into our fall and winter holidays, where families gather, even if you’re sick with mild symptoms, being mindful of who you are in contact with if someone you know, is a younger child, an older adult, someone who has underlying issues that might make them have more severe disease from a respiratory illness.”
Walking pneumonia can be spread by respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Madhavan recommends using measures to such as handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes to prevent these bacteria from spreading.
If someone does become sick, she encourages taking action when experiencing the following symptoms: “A persistently high fever, or a fever that goes away and then comes back, and then the signs of increased work of breathing, dehydration, lethargy, those would all be, you know, signs that, like my child, should be seen by someone.”
