Is this Round 2 of a new Pandemic?

Post Reply New Topic

Another article is adding Denmark and Sweden to the list of countries suffering White Lung Syndrome cases.

White Lung Syndrome: Bacterial Pneumonia Sweeping the Globe

White Lung Syndrome Outbreak
White Lung Syndrome has reached alarming proportions, notably reaching 'epidemic levels' in Denmark, with parallels to the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Netherlands and Sweden have also reported a surge in cases, raising concerns about the widespread transmission of the disease (1).

Transmission of White Lung Syndrome
The bacterial infection is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets, and disseminated during common activities such as coughing, sneezing, talking, singing, and even breathing. The highly contagious nature of the disease is contributing to its rapid spread among vulnerable populations, particularly children.

No, ‘white lung syndrome’ is not a new illness spreading in the U.S.

Respiratory illnesses such as the flu, RSV and COVID-19 often circulate more frequently during the fall and winter months.

But a viral social media post suggests that a new and unknown respiratory illness called “white lung syndrome” is spreading throughout the world, including in the U.S.

“The ‘mystery pneumonia’ affecting kids and ripping through China and parts of Europe, is reportedly now in America,” conservative activist and radio talk show host Charlie Kirk wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Kirk claimed a county in Ohio has recorded 142 cases of “white lung syndrome” in children since August.

Some news headlines have also linked pediatric pneumonia outbreaks in the U.S. and beyond to “white lung syndrome.”

THE QUESTION

Is there a new illness called “white lung syndrome” spreading in the US?


THE ANSWER


No, there isn’t a new illness called “white lung syndrome” spreading in the U.S.


WHAT WE FOUND

Shira Doron, M.D., chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine, told VERIFY “there is no such thing as ‘white lung syndrome,’” adding that it is a “fake term.”

People are likely using the term because pneumonia shows up on a chest x-ray, which is a black-and-white image, as more whiteness than usual. But it’s not a new or unknown illness, as online posts and headlines suggest.

“Any kind of pneumonia that is viral or bacterial can result in white lungs [on an x-ray],” Payal Kohli, MD., a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, said.

Bacteria, viruses and fungi can cause pneumonia, which is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs.

A county in Ohio and areas throughout China are reporting a recent surge in respiratory illnesses, including pediatric pneumonia. But these outbreaks aren’t connected, health officials say.

Warren County, Ohio, is reporting an “extremely high number” of pediatric pneumonia cases this fall, the county health district said in a statement on Nov. 29. The county has reported 145 cases of pneumonia in children ages 3 to 14 years old since August, which is above the county average and meets the state’s definition of an outbreak.

But the health district did not use the term “white lung syndrome” to describe the outbreak. It also said in the Nov. 29 statement and another issued one day later that the increase in pneumonia cases is not suspected to be a new respiratory virus, “but rather a large uptick in the number of typical pediatric pneumonia cases.”

“There has been zero evidence of this outbreak being connected to other outbreaks, either statewide, nationally or internationally,” the health district said.

A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also said there is no indication of a link between infections in China and the U.S.

On a national level, the CDC is seeing about the same number and type of pneumonia cases in children and adults that it typically does at this time of year, according to the spokesperson.

China has seen an uptick in outpatient consultations and hospital admissions due to a type of bacteria called mycoplasma pneumoniae since May, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This bacteria commonly causes “walking pneumonia,” which is a form of the infection that is usually more mild, the New York State Department of Health says.

Chinese health authorities have also attributed a rise in outpatient visits and hospitalizations since October to common winter illnesses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus and influenza.

But these are known pathogens, not any new viral or bacterial infections.

“Some of these increases are earlier in the season than historically experienced, but not unexpected given the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, as similarly experienced in other countries,” the WHO said.

To prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses, health experts recommend that people get vaccines such as the flu shot, wash their hands often, avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth, wear masks in public places, and avoid crowded places.

The CDC also recommends pneumonia vaccines for some children, people with certain medical conditions and older adults.

Childhood pneumonia outbreak in Ohio unrelated to China, Europe

Ohio "white lung" pneumonia cases not linked to China outbreak or novel pathogen, experts say

One of our ghost members, Huck Finn from Italy passed on his thoughts on the subject. So I will pass on his recent comments which he sent to me yesterday. Huck Finn is a picture thinker. All the knowledge within his mind is stored permanently away within his brain. As a result his level of knowledge is huge.

China has been grappling with this variant for some time, which particularly affects children.
Unfortunately it may have arrived in France.
France is close to us, very much, we call them the "French Cousins".
Antibiotic resistance could be dangerous.
Azithromycin is discussed.
A drug that saved my life in combination with another antibiotic.
Now that drug may be ineffective.
In China some bacterial infections are already resistant to azithromycin.
Mycoplasma can become incurable.
In Africa, pneumonia had already been affecting children for years, I wrote about it in Italy in a specific thread for Covid.
But people weren't interested.
In Italy we are not investing in research, it is serious.
There is no attention to waste water, whereas in the UK it is done.
We must aim for rapid vaccines.
We can already do it.
We have the technology.
We must act together as states, because they should be produced in an intelligent and systematic way.
He then ends this message by saying, Look James, it's terrible to see your intuitions come true after 10 years.

if it is Pneumonia then it would not be a pandemic. There are a few reasons for this most of them technical in nature.

1) It would be an epidemic until it crosses the border into a new country. Granted there is no allowance made for this when comparing large vs small countries.

2) Unless it is an entirely new type of Pnemonia then it has already spread throughout most of the world and gone past the pandemic phase. When a disease has moved to the background it becomes an endemic. It can be difficult to classify when this happens, but diseases never really go away we just get used to having them around and populations adapt to them. Overall the diseases become less deadly. Typically because fewer people catch them. Did you know we still have cases of Beubonic Plague?


If it is a new disease then what you want to look for are the following.

1) The R-naught of a disease. This is a calculation for determining the number of people who contract a disease from a single infected individual. Roughly speaking it estimates how fast the disease will progress.

2) The incubation time of the disease. This is the amount of time between when someone becomes infected and when they start showing symptoms (Typically this is also when they become contagious though sometimes people are contagious before showing symptoms)

3) The mortality rate and timeline of the disease. tells you how fast and likely it is to kill along with how long the disease has to spread.

So a disease that affects a lot of people shows symptoms fast and kills everyone off is unlikely to spread. This is because it will kill off all the carriers and burn itself out. Ebola is this type of disease... scarry stuff... very scarry.

A disease that affects a few people, is contagious for a while and only kills a smaller percentage of the population is more likely to spread (Covid for example) because it is more likely to be passed from carrier to carrier. Additionally, the longer a disease is in the population the more likely it is to mutate into new variants. Variants can make them more contagious, lethal, or even more benign but we can't tell. Variants can also bypass existing medications and treatments setting us back to the beginning. this is one of the reasons why COVID has been so problematic, it has been mutating all along as it did not burn itself out before mutating.


As for how to protect yourself.
There are specific precautions that can be taken for pneumonia as it is a known disease. You have to look them up as I don't know them off the top of my head.

The precautions given for covid; social distancing, masks, washing hands, etc... are based on best practices that have worked in the majority of outbreaks. We don't know if they will work for a new disease until we test the new disease and have experience with it. But what we do know is that based on past diseases they have a likelihood of helping and therefore they are always a default quick recommendation when something new appears.


I recognize that I have not given any references for my information so take it at face value. I, myself, have worked in a field that gives me great knowledge of this, but I will not say what it is or discuss it on the Internet. Additionally, I have most of a master's degree in emergency and disaster management finished. I did not finish it (4 classes) because I realized I could not get a better job with that degree. Instead, I got a different one and got a better job.

There's been nothing but pandemics in our world over the past three years. I hope that things don't get shut down again.

^Maybe if antibiotics become useless we'll see the widespread adoption and use of Rife Machines.. maybe -> it is Possible that the future of medicine is very, Very, Star Trek-y.. light & sound frequencies.

_________________
No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I thought I would look at pneumonia in a little more depth.

Who is the most affected by

People who may be more likely to have complications from pneumonia include:
* Older adults or very young children.
* People whose immune system does not work well.
* People with other, serious medical problems such as diabetes or cirrhosis of the liver.

So if an antibiotic resistant form of pneumonia developed, these are the ones who would be on the front lines.

Some of the most serious forms of pneumonia produces severe effects including:
* Respiratory failure, which requires a breathing machine or ventilator.
* Sepsis, a condition in which there is uncontrolled inflammation in the body, which may lead to widespread organ failure.
* Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a severe form of respiratory failure.
* Lung abscesses, which are infrequent, but serious complications of pneumonia. They occur when pockets of pus form inside or around the lung. These may sometimes need to be drained with surgery.

What is the current antibiotic treatment approach to combat the effects of pneumonia?

According to one website: Patients with community-acquired pneumonia often present with cough, fever, chills, fatigue, dyspnea, rigors, and pleuritic chest pain. When a patient presents with suspected community-acquired pneumonia, the physician should first assess the need for hospitalization using a mortality prediction tool, such as the Pneumonia Severity Index, combined with clinical judgment. Consensus guidelines from several organizations recommend empiric therapy with macrolides, fluoroquinolones, or doxycycline. Patients who are hospitalized should be switched from parenteral antibiotics to oral antibiotics after their symptoms improve, they are afebrile, and they are able to tolerate oral medication.

But what is the plan of action if this particular form of pneumonia has developed perfect immunity and is resistant to all known forms of antibiotic treatment?

I have been thinking about this from a different perspective. Suppose we step back in time, deep back in time. Long before we developed many antibiotics to cure disease. So if we enter this world, did White Lung Syndrome exist in the child population?

This is a strange thought.

Born in Biddeford (Maine) in 1872 Emma Bergeron began her work life at 9 years of age as a bobbin girl in the Bates Mill. She pushed what resembled a large shopping cart (empty bobbins in one basket, full ones in another) between the weaving machines and changed the bobbins.

Each weaving machine had a wide, totally unguarded power belt, dangerously close to the bobbin. The eventual result for my grandmother was the loss of a finger. But, I suppose, she was lucky: Somehow she escaped the white lung disease that felled so many of the mill workers.

Source: How did childhood labor impact American childhood and families? by Grade 6-8 Inquiry with Library of Congress Resources Hub Child Labor Inquiry by Kristen Gagnon and Megan Sutton

So I wonder if this White Lung Disease is what is now being referred to as White Lung Syndrome. If so then we are stepping back in time over a hundred years ago to a time before antibiotics.