After outbreaks in China and the US, among others, ‘white lung syndrome’ now also appears to be emerging in Belgium. The bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia in children and young adults, has been observed with increasing frequency in the past week. Sciensano and several university hospitals confirmed this to our editors. “It hasn’t been since 2014 that we saw such a peak.”
The name of white lung syndrome originally comes from China. Doctors there have seen an increase in the number of respiratory infections and pneumonias in children and young adults since mid-November. Such pneumonia sometimes gives a ‘white’ shadow on X-ray images of the chest of patients. The most frequently mentioned cause is bacteria mycoplasma pneumoniae. After an increase in the US and Denmark, the bacteria are now also being spotted more often in our country.
LOOK. In China, several hospitals are flooded with sick children
“Since October 2023 we have seen an increase in Asia and Europe, including in our country,” says health institute Sciensano. “Last week we were able to identify more than 60 positive cases. Such a high number per week has already occurred in 2014. It is also noticeable that there are more invasive infections, which means that people are becoming more ill. We are therefore closely monitoring this situation.”
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The hospitals themselves have also noticed an increase: “In our lab we clearly see that more positive tests are coming in,” says microbiologist Katrien Lagrou. She works at the laboratory of the University Hospital Leuven. “Last week we broke an annual record with nineteen positive samples. At the beginning of this year, this was only one or two tests per week. So we can say that the bacterium is making a comeback, after a long silence during the corona pandemic.”
They are also seeing the white lung bacteria more and more often at UZ Brussels: “We especially notice it in outpatient care,” says pediatrician Siel Daelemans. “This concerns parents who visit the doctor with their children. Although there are also some hospitalizations. I would also like to emphasize that there are certainly plenty of other bacteria circulating in children at the moment, such as whooping cough.”
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Pulmonologist Eva Van Braeckel from Ghent University Hospital agrees with her colleague: “It is true that more people are testing positive for mycoplasma pneumoniae. But it is also true that a lot more testing is being done than seven to eight years ago. Since the corona pandemic, there has been much more attention to viruses and bacteria, which could give you a distorted picture at the moment.”
“In addition, it is not the case that every infection with mycoplasma causes white spots on your lungs. In the majority of cases, the patient does not even notice that they have the bacteria, and there are mainly banal complaints. The popular term white lung syndrome is therefore somewhat simplistic in this case.”
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