Childhood pneumonia outbreak is reported in southwestern Ohio: ‘Large uptick’ in cases

A pediatric pneumonia outbreak has been reported in Warren County, Ohio, which is located in the southwestern portion of the state.

The Warren County Health District (WCHD) has recorded 142 cases of childhood pneumonia since August, which exceeds the average number seen in the county.

“We do not think this is a novel/new respiratory disease but rather a large uptick in the number of pneumonia cases normally seen at one time,” a WCHD spokesperson said in a Wednesday press release.

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The Ohio Department of Health defines an “outbreak” as “when the number of reported cases is higher than what is expected on the basis of previous reports during a non-epidemic period for a given population in a defined time, and the outbreak is not considered to be foodborne, waterborne, zoonotic, health care-associated or institutional.”

The most common symptoms seen are cough, fever and fatigue, according to WCHD.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, said there are several potential causes for this outbreak.

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“A global spread is beginning in China, with lockdowns in 2022 leading to ‘immune pause’ and the spread of viruses that have not been seen in a while,” the doctor told Fox News Digital.

Another factor is an uptick of resistant mycoplasma, an atypical bacteria that is not usually treated with anything other than azithromycin in kids, said Siegel. 

“This is spreading widely and causing more hospitalizations from pneumonia,” he noted.

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Meanwhile, Siegel noted that there has been a steady increase of RSV, adenovirus, flu and strep, which is being “underdiagnosed.”

“There is also an inadequate supply of amoxicillin to treat strep right now,” he added.

Pediatric pneumonia is typically treated with a course of antibiotics. 

Severe cases may require hospitalization.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Ohio Department of Health, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Warren County Health District for additional comment. 

This is a developing story.

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