Mycoplasma and whooping cough outbreaks... Coughing children’s 'COVID nightmare' [Parent's Encyclopedia]

Our second child has pneumonia and enteritis caused by Mycoplasma...

It really seems to be in fashion...

This hospital is also crowded... The inpatient rooms and IV rooms are both completely full.

Most of the children admitted are due to pneumonia, enteritis, etc. ㅠ_ㅠ

The only fortunate thing is that our second child had no fever at all...

Pneumonia came relatively mildly, while enteritis was more severe...

The blood test results showed Mycoplasma bacteria, and that's correct...

It's quite amazing that there was not a single fever...

---------------------------------------------------------------

Initial cold symptoms similar... persistent fever and cough
Two infectious diseases can be treated with the same antibiotic.

Mr. A, who has young children in elementary school, received a message from the school a few days ago. It said, "There has been a case of whooping cough at the school, and we ask for your cooperation in prevention and transmission control." Then, after about 3 to 4 days, the child started coughing and developed a high fever. After visiting the hospital and undergoing tests, a diagnosis of Mycoplasma was made, and antibiotics were prescribed. Mr. A said, "Hearing about the whooping cough case at the school, I was worried that it might be a co-infection of whooping cough and Mycoplasma."

Newsis

Recently, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency issued a warning about the outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections and also urged caution regarding the spread of whooping cough. As two infectious diseases are spreading simultaneously, parents of children in daycare centers, kindergartens, and elementary schools are recalling the 'nightmare' of the cold and flu outbreaks that occurred after the endemization (becoming endemic) in April-May of last year.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is a disease caused by infection with bacteria called 'Mycoplasma.' Mycoplasma bacteria are characterized by the absence of a cell wall. Normally, antibiotics kill bacteria by destroying their cell walls, but since Mycoplasma already lack a cell wall, standard antibiotics are ineffective.

Professor Shim Jung-yeon of the Department of Pediatrics at Gangbuk Samsung Medical Center said, "If you administer the first-line antibiotic for Mycoplasma pneumonia, macrolides, and there is no improvement in symptoms such as fever and cough after 48 to 72 hours, and the condition worsens, it is likely due to macrolide antibiotic resistance, and a second-line antibiotic should be used."

In a domestic survey conducted in 2019, Mycoplasma was found to have an 80% resistance to antibiotics.

Professor Sim said, "Mycoplasma pneumonia initially presents with sore throat, fever, and other cold-like symptoms, and after a day or two, a cough begins." He added, "The way to distinguish it from a simple cold is that even as time passes, fever and cough persist, and the amount of food intake also decreases."

Whooping cough, which is also currently popular, shows similar symptoms. Fever, sore throat, and cough appear similarly. It is difficult for the general public to distinguish between the two diseases based solely on symptoms.

Should we definitely perform PCR tests for whooping cough and mycoplasma and treat each accordingly?

The answer is 'No.' Since both diseases can be treated with the same antibiotic prescription, PCR testing is not necessarily required.

Professor Shim said, "Even after 100 days, since macrolide antibiotics are used, both conditions are treated with the same antibiotics," and advised, "Compared to a common cold, both conditions have prolonged fever and cough, and since pneumonia complications or sequelae can remain, chest radiography follow-up tests are necessary."

Reporter Jeong Jin-soo