Are We Seeing COVID 2.0?
Surge in cases in China & the US are setting off alarm bells!
China is seeing a surge in respiratory illness with surrounding countries such as Taiwan advising the elderly and immunocompromised individuals to avoid travel to China. This is pretty worrying as doctors on the ground have reported seeing 1500 patients per week in hospital emergency departments with the WHO even requesting more detailed information on the nature of the infection. The majority of those being admitted are sick children.
Interestingly, the USA is also suffering from a similar thing with a sudden rise in respiratory infections, primarily in children. Now both of these countries are on the opposite sides of the world but there is one thing linking the two together and this is the Xray below:
This Xray shows mycoplasma pneumonia, or colloquially known as “white lung syndrome” and this is the latest bacteria to wreck lungs of many. It’s a bacteria which shows quite high infectivity (people catch it easily) but is relatively mild. In the cases of China and USA, it seems to be the sudden surge of cases along with the fact that both countries were under quite significant lockdown restrictions which has made people more susceptible to catching it.
The fear is that it could also spread to the UK and momentarily overtake strep pneumonia, which in the UK is the most common cause of pneumonia. So here are some key points for clinical practice:
The disease typically has a prolonged onset with flu-like symptoms preceding a dry cough
Often affects children and young adults
Can present with skin changes such as erythema multiform
There is often bilateral consolidation on x-ray
Often doesn’t respond to penicillins such as amoxicillin
These patients can get quite unwell with complications including Guillain-Barre syndrome, hepatitis, meningoencephalitis and acute glomerulonephritis. Diagnosis is usually made using mycoplasma serology with doxycycline or clarithromycin being effective treatments.
Practically speaking, it’s quite difficult to differentiate between different types of pneumonia but I generally prescribe a macrolide alongside amoxicillin to ensure that I cover any potentially atypical organisms.
And that’s it for this week..
What We’re Watching
Origin stories are always quite interesting. Kameel recently recommend I watch a film about McDonalds. Yes, McDonalds. However, it is really interesting. To see how the world famous brand came to be including the whole concept of “drive thru” was quite intriguing. Ofcourse, such stories are often filled with struggle, hardworking and betrayal and this film makes an entertaining watch! I’d definitely recommend watching “The Founder!”
What Have We Got Planned?
We continue our CPD calendar with core nephrology this Wednesday. We aim to cover the spectrum of renal disease from AKI to CKD including medical and invasive interventions. Be sure to join us on Microsoft Teams.
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