Tianjin Children’s Hospital has been operating around the clock, dealing with more than 13,000 paediatric patients daily in the outpatient and emergency departments, a record high, according to Tianjin Television and Radio Station.
A maternal and child health hospital in the northern province of Hebei had merged the gynaecology and obstetrics wards to make more room for sick children, it said on its official WeChat account.
The Civil Aviation General Hospital in Beijing also said last week that its paediatric outpatient clinic was handling 550 to 650 visits each day, an increase of 30 to 50 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The surge prompted the WHO to ask China last week to provide more information about the spike in respiratory diseases among children in its northern regions.
In its response, China said that there was no new or unusual pathogen behind the spike.
Mycoplasma pneumonia infections usually cause mild respiratory symptoms but experts and officials said this year’s outbreak was particularly serious because of the bacteria’s resistance to macrolide antibiotics.
Concern about the surge has prompted a number of cities and provinces to publish lists of places where parents can get treatment for their children.
Health commissions in several regions, such as Shandong province, Guangdong province and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, have compiled lists of medical institutions offering paediatric diagnostic and treatment services.
These lists include information such as the maximum patient capacity and number of paediatric inpatient beds.
Families can choose medical institutions based on their location and medical needs.
This article was first published on SCMP.
Source: CNA
