The United States is now reporting an unusually high level of “walking pneumonia” or “white lung pneumonia” infections among young children.
The number of people treated for Infections caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae has increased significantly from March 31 through October 5 among all age groups. However, the highest increase was among children, with pneumonia-associated emergency room visits increasing from 0.5% in the week ending March 31 to 2.1% in the week ending October 5.
Specifically, the share increased from 1.0% to 7.2% among children aged 2 to 4. It also rose from 3.6% to 7.4% among children aged 5 to 17, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…