CDC warns that cases of atypical pneumonia are on the rise among children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that cases of mycoplasma pneumonia have increased across the country especially in young children.

"Bacterial infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae increased in the United States since late spring and have remained high," the CDC explained in an alert.

This is a common mild respiratory illness. Since late spring, infections have been on the rise, particularly among infants. This trend contrasts from studies from previous years, which showed that most infections occurred in school-aged children and adolescents.

In addition, CDC data indicates that the percentage of children aged 2 to 4 years who were seen in the emergency department for pneumonia and tested positive for mycoplasma rose from 1% in April 2024 to 7.2% in early October.

This is a seven-fold increase. Diagnoses in older children doubled during the same time period, increasing from 3.6 % to 7.4 %.

In that regard, the CDC explained that it is closely monitoring the recent increase in infections caused by the bacteria, utilizing various surveillance tools to gain a better understanding of demographic differences, disease severity, and outcomes compared with M. pneumoniae infections before the COVID-19 pandemic.