Recently, China has ushered in a serious respiratory epidemic, involving the infection of a variety of pathogens, including influenza A, influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus, which has brought unprecedented challenges to pediatric hospitals.
On November 26, Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, revealed at a press conference that the sharp rise in the number of cases of acute respiratory diseases in China is related to the superposition of infection by a variety of different respiratory pathogens. The main pathogen is influenza, but there are also infections caused by rhinovirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus and other pathogens. The news is deeply worrying, especially for parents.
Pediatricians have also expressed their concerns. Due to the highly specialized pediatrics, it is difficult to replace other departments, and the pediatric outpatient clinic of the hospital is crowded with children. Doctors had to do their best, and some even stuck to their posts while sick. The scary thing about this wave of infections is that there are multiple infections, and patients may be infected with a variety of viruses such as influenza A, influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia, syncytial virus, etc., and there are also repeated infections. Unlike the coronavirus, these viruses do not give patients long-lasting immunity, so they are more difficult.
So, what should be done to alleviate this emergency?First, the health sector needs to implement the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment policy more vigorously, especially to strengthen the pediatric medical capacity of primary medical institutions, so as to reduce the burden on large hospitals. Some primary hospitals don't even have pediatric outpatient clinics, which has led to patients having to flock to tertiary hospitals, resulting in overload. At the same time, hospitals should also increase the number of medical staff and rationally plan the pediatric outpatient and emergency procedures to improve the efficiency of medical treatment.
In addition, schools should also take measures, as some schools have experienced class absenteeism rates of up to 50%. If the situation continues to worsen, it may be necessary to consider early holidays or education** to reduce the spread of the virus. Finally, parents also have a responsibility to seek medical attention if their child has cold symptoms and not to send their child to school to spread the virus. In addition, we should also understand the high workload of doctors, and be more understanding and considerate of each other.
In conclusion, in the face of the current respiratory epidemic, we need health authorities, hospitals, schools and parents to work together to take reasonable measures to jointly address this serious challenge. Wearing masks, washing hands frequently, and ventilating are things that each of us should do if we can weather this storm and protect the health of our children.