Mycoplasma Pneumonia Cases In Japan: A significant increase in cases of mycoplasma pneumonia is being seen in Japan. The number of patients has reached the highest level in comparison to the last decade. According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, as of January 12, the weekly average number of mycoplasma pneumonia patients reached 1.11, an increase of 0.34 from the week before. This is the highest average in the last decade.
Mycoplasma pneumonia is a common infection in children. It has symptoms like fever, fatigue, headache and persistent cough. In severe cases it can cause pneumonia and may require hospitalization. It may take one to four weeks for symptoms to appear after a person comes in contact with the bacteria. Symptoms may last for several weeks.
At the same time, Erythema Infectiosum disease is also increasing. It starts with cold-like symptoms and then red rashes appear on the cheeks.
According to reports from nearly 3,000 medical institutions across the country, an average of 0.94 cases were reported per hospital in the week ending January 12, compared to 0.78 cases per hospital a week earlier, Xinhua news agency reported.
Experts stressed the importance of infection prevention measures, including wearing masks, as influenza is also spreading widely. M. pneumoniae spreads from one person to another through small droplets of vapor present in the breath.
This infection usually occurs during the winter months, but can also occur year-round. Estimates suggest that approximately one percent of the US population gets infected every year. The actual number of infections may be much higher than the reported cases because the infection causes mild illness that does not require hospitalization.
Outbreak of mycoplasma infection is also seen in army, hospitals, nursing homes etc. Only five to ten percent of people infected with mycoplasma develop pneumonia.