There’s been a significant increase in walking pneumonia cases nationally. And that’s true locally, as well, physicians say – particularly involving younger children.
Dr. Sarah Collins-McGowan, medical director of the Golisano Children's Hospital pediatric practice, said there’s been an unusual increase in walking pneumonia cases in children ages 2 through 4 this season.
“That’s a little bit atypical,” Collins-McGown said.
The illness most often occurs in school-aged children and adults, she said.
Walking pneumonia refers to a milder version of pneumonia. Symptoms often present as a cold that can dissipate without any treatment. However, Collins-McGowan said if your child has a persistent cough that just won't get better, or they're developing any other symptoms, like trouble breathing, wheezing or chest pain, that suggests the infection is getting more serious.
“That's the time that you definitely want to go see your pediatrician or your medical provider,” Collins-McGowan said.
She attributes the increase to various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s because precautions taken during that time caused many respiratory viruses to “go away,” she said, including the mycoplasma bacteria that causes walking pneumonia.
“When everyone had masks on, and was social distancing, it dropped way below our normal levels of it,” Collins-McGowan said. “Some of this is probably just kind of the re-emergence of mycoplasma after COVID.”
Collins also said testing for this particular bacterium has also gotten better.
Rochester General Hospital’s emergency room is seeing almost double the amount of walking pneumonia cases than previous years.
“It's been many, many years since we've seen this much atypical pneumonia, or walking pneumonia,” said Dr. Colleen Markevicz, pediatric emergency medicine physician at Rochester General Hospital. “We're ordering X-rays on everybody with a cough.”
Markevicz said this increase has much to do with the initial symptoms being so mild or nonexistent.
“People feel well enough to go to school or to go to work,” she said. “And it's also contagious before you have symptoms.”
The mycoplasma bacteria, which causes the illness, can incubate in the host for weeks before symptoms appear. But “during that period of time, you're still infectious,” Markevicz said.
Adults and children alike should continue practicing safe hygiene, she said, like covering your mouth and washing your hands.
