On alert for new pathogens

Comforting may not be enough a mask as the Department of Health remains on alert for new pathogens following an increase in influenza-like illnesses here, while a wave of respiratory diseases is hitting China.

Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag has confirmed patients with flu-like symptoms, like high-grade fever, cough, cold, and sore throat, who have visited DOH facilities have been tested and the virus that caused their illness has been identified.

“And indeed we confirm that several cases are due to COVID-19 and the other numbers point to influenza A or influenza B,” he said, adding “We are doing this on a regular basis because we are on a watch out for new pathogens.”

But Filipinos must have eyes like a hawk with the respiratory diseases hitting China, although Beijing said there were no “unusual or novel pathogens” in illnesses spreading in the northern part of the world’s most populous country of 1.4 billion people.

Some say China is getting hit now, with the arrival of the virus season, because it maintained COVID lockdowns far longer than most other countries.

But the demand by the World Health Organization last week for information from Beijing on “reported clusters of pneumonia in children in Northern China” reminded the world of the start of the pandemic nearly four years ago, and triggered anxiety a new pathogen may again cause a global outbreak.

It may be consolatory that China’s health ministry has said flu and other known viruses and bacteria are causing the surge, not a novel virus.

Then experts say because there’s no new pathogen to date, the risk of the outbreak spreading to people living outside of China is low.

The biggest implication will likely be stress on China’s hospital systems.

Within China, the outbreak could be the beginning of a surge of respiratory infections, because children are “often the conduits of disease” to their families, according to medical experts.

Babies born during the pandemic had limited exposure to RSV because of pandemic precautions, but once those measures ended and people started to get together as they had before COVID arrived, the number of RSV cases in the United States increased there in 2022.

RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms.

Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious. Infants and older adults are more likely to develop severe RSV and need hospitalization.

In the Philippines, some 190,000 influenza-like cases have been reported thus far this year.

It is heartening that Tayag urged doctors to promptly report any unusual clustering of flu-like cases “so that we can investigate and make sure that we also notify authorities as may be needed.”

Vigilance is vital.