Walking pneumonia cases in the United States, especially among children, are on the rise and have been since early spring, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Infections from Mycoplasma pneumoniae, the bacteria that can cause walking pneumonia, are common, with about 2 million cases in the United States every year; they typically affect youths age 5 to 17. But from March to October this year, the CDC found that the largest increase in cases was among children age 2 to 4, whose emergency visits related to the bacteria went up from 1 to 7.2 percent.

Here’s what to know about walking pneumonia.

– – –

What is Mycoplasma pneumoniae?

M. pneumoniae are bacteria that can cause respiratory infections in people of all ages because they attack the lining of the throat, windpipe and lungs. The bacteria is commonly spread through respiratory droplets from sneezing and coughing.

The infections caused by these bacteria are typically mild and appear as a chest cold.

In some cases, though not very common, M. pneumoniae can cause ear infections, diarrhea, conjunctivitis and brain swelling.

– – –

How is Mycoplasma pneumoniae different from pneumonia?

An M. pneumoniae infection can progress to pneumonia – an infection that causes the lungs to fill with fluid or pus resulting in cough, phlegm and difficulty breathing, according to Mayo Clinic. Many bacteria and viruses can cause pneumonia, and M. pneumoniae is just one of the possible culprits.

M. pneumoniae typically cause a less severe form of pneumonia commonly known as walking pneumonia. According to Jennifer Vodzak, pediatric infectious-disease physician at Nemours Children’s Hospital, patients with walking pneumonia may feel like they can be out and about, though they might feel tired and have a persistent cough.

Unlike routine pneumonia – which is often caused by pneumococcal bacteria and marked by high fevers and severe difficulty breathing that leave patients too weak for normal activities – walking pneumonia generally allows patients to stay mobile with milder symptoms.

– – –

How is walking pneumonia different from the common cold?

Walking pneumonia can initially present similar symptoms to the common cold, including a runny nose, congestion, fever and headaches.

However, “most of the time, the common cold actually doesn’t cause infection in the lungs,” Vodzak said. While a cold mainly targets the upper respiratory system – which includes the ears, nose and throat – walking pneumonia affects the lower respiratory system, which includes the lungs.

As a result, people with walking pneumonia start experiencing deep, persistent cough, chest pains and shortness of breath within a few days of infection, signaling that the illness is targeting the lungs.

While M. pneumoniae’s telltale symptom is persistent cough, in rarer cases it can cause rashes that look like hives, headaches and diarrhea in young children.

– – –

How is walking pneumonia treated?

After testing – usually in the form of a throat or nasal swab – confirms the presence of M. pneumoniae, the most common course of treatment for walking pneumonia is antibiotics, and most often azithromycin, according to Vodzak. Some antibiotics, such as penicillin, are not effective against M. pneumoniae.

“This is a respiratory pathogen. It’s transmitted a lot like the flu and RSV and covid,” said Chris Edens, an epidemiologist at the CDC. “A lot of the CDC-recommended respiratory protection precautions for those bugs work for mycoplasma as well,” including handwashing, covering your mouth when you cough and staying at home when feeling sick to avoid transmitting infections to others, Edens said.

Edens also recommends that parents and children stay up to date on their vaccinations. “While mycoplasma is not vaccine-preventable, flu and covid certainly are.” Edens said. “So we just recommend: Protect yourself as much as possible, and ensure that you can have a healthy respiratory-illness season.”

– – –

What is causing the rise in cases among children?

Andi Shane, division chief of pediatric infectious disease at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University, said the unusual rise of Mycoplasma infections in young children could be explained by a different form of the pathogen circulating or reduced immunity from the days of social distancing.

“Like with most things, we are blaming the pandemic,” Shane said. “During that period of isolation, we had a whole cohort of children who were not exposed.”

Debbie-Ann Shirley, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at the University of Florida College of Medicine, said M. pneumoniae outbreaks tend to last longer than other respiratory virus outbreaks because the virus has a longer incubation period, and people tend to be contagious longer.

– – –

When to see a doctor

Matthew Harris, an attending pediatric physician at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York, said the hospital has seen a dramatic increase in mycoplasma cases over the last four weeks. The telltale sign is usually when a child’s cough continues past day seven.

“When kids are breathing fast or breathing hard, regardless of whether it’s mycoplasma or not, that’s when to seek care,” Harris said.

Because there’s no vaccine for the pathogen, Harris said there’s not much parents can do to prevent it beyond keeping sick children at home. The vast majority of children are quickly discharged because it’s highly treatable, and the rare cases requiring a hospital admission are usually spurred by low oxygen or dehydration as a result of pneumonia.

(c) Washington Post