Health Ministry Responds After Media Report Claims Link Between Pneumonia Cases In AIIMS Delhi And Surge In Respiratory Infections In China

Union Health Ministry on Thursday (7 December) responded to media reports claiming link between Pneumonia cases in AIIMS Delhi and recent surge in respiratory infections in China.

According to the ministry, the report published in a national daily is "ill-informed" and "misleading".

"A recent media report in a national daily has claimed that AIIMS Delhi has detected seven bacterial cases linked to the recent surge in Pneumonia cases in China. The news report is ill-informed and provides misleading information," the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry further clarified that "these seven cases have no link whatsoever to the recent surge in respiratory infections in children reported from some parts of the world, including China".

The seven cases have been detected as a part of an ongoing study at AIIMS Delhi in the six month period (April to September 2023) and is no cause for worry, the ministry said.

"Since January 2023 till date, NO Mycoplasma pneumonia was detected in the 611 samples tested at the Department of Microbiology, AIIMS Delhi as a part ICMR's multiple respiratory pathogen surveillance, which included mainly severe acute respiratory illness (SARI, which comprised about 95% of these cases) by real-time PCR," the ministry said.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is the commonest bacterial cause of community acquired pneumonia. It is the reason for nearly 15-30 per cent of all such infections.

"Such surge has not been reported from any part of India," the ministry said.

The Health Ministry further said that it is in touch with state health authorities and is keeping a close watch on the situation on an everyday basis.