Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the country is controlling the seasonal respiratory disease well, with no unusual pathogens recorded.
He made the statement on November 29, in an interview after a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York.
"Recently, we have seen a cluster of influenza cases among children in some parts of China. In fact, this is a very common phenomenon in many countries. The situation in China has also been effectively controlled," said Mr. Wang.
According to him, activities between the country and the international community will not be affected by any factors. China welcomes tourists from all over the world to visit.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the 10th Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Busan, South Korea, November 26. Photo: Reuters
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) asked Beijing to provide details about the surge in respiratory illnesses, especially among children. Chinese health officials later confirmed that the rise in flu-like illnesses in children was not due to a new pathogen. They explained that the cause was a combination of pathogens such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), seasonal influenza, and Covid-19. This was compounded by colder weather, the lifting of restrictions, and children’s weakened immune systems from two years of limited outdoor time due to the pandemic.
“Because China went through a much longer and more severe lockdown than any other country, when restrictions are lifted, the usual wave of infections could be quite large,” said Dr Francois Balloux, of University College London.
Unless new evidence suggests otherwise, the world does not need to worry too much about a new pathogen, Francois added.
However, the UN health agency still asked China to provide more details, noting that the government needs to closely monitor the trends of viruses such as influenza, RSV, and nCoV.
Dr Paul Hunter, of the University of East Anglia in the UK, stressed that there was too little information to determine anything at the moment. However, overall, he did not think a new pandemic on the scale of Covid-19 would emerge.
Thuc Linh (According to Reuters )
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