Rise in respiratory illnesses

Better safer than sorry: Young patients on drips at a children’s hospital in Beijing. — AFP

BEIJING: Chinese health authorities have not detected any unusual or novel pathogens and provided the requested data on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

The WHO had asked China for more information on Wednesday after groups including the Programme for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in north China.