Hong Kong Looks On Nervously as China Respiratory Illnesses Rise
- City seeing some respiratory infection outbreaks at schools
- Cases are also starting to rise in provinces near Hong Kong
A man carries a child at children's hospital in Beijing on Oct. 30.
Photographer: Andy Wong/APHealth authorities in Hong Kong are watching a rise in respiratory illnesses in China closely, urging schools and the general public to take precautions as outbreaks on the mainland, particularly among children, surge.
A mix of common respiratory pathogens, including mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus and influenza, are starting to cause more illness in Guangdong, the Chinese province that borders Hong Kong, after triggering an explosion of diseases in northern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported earlier this week. Some pediatric wards in China are receiving two or three times the number of patients than before, according to the report.