This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Ian Kane about an increase in cases of walking pneumonia in S.C. children. Dr. Kane is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a Pediatric Emergency physician at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Cases of walking pneumonia in children have been on the rise in recent months in South Carolina and in the U.S.. Doctor Ian Kane is here to talk about the details. Doctor Kane is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a pediatric emergency physician at MUSC, Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital. Doctor Kane, what causes walking pneumonia and how is it spread?
Dr. Kane: Walking pneumonia is caused by a bacteria called mycoplasma. It's sort of an unusual bacteria. It's very small and slow growing. It actually invades and lives inside the cells that line our respiratory tract, so our trachea and our lungs. It's spread just like many of the other common cold viruses, by coughing and sneezing and small respiratory droplets.
Conner: What are the symptoms and why do we call this condition walking pneumonia?
Dr. Kane: It actually kind of causes symptoms that aren't quite so severe as regular pneumonia. So, when we're talking about regular pneumonia, other bacteria grow more quickly and cause more severe symptoms. Typically, walking pneumonia caused by mycoplasma just leads to things like sore throat, headache, feeling tired, low grade fever and cough. Cough is probably the one persistent symptom that's most associated with walking pneumonia.
Conner: Why are cases of walking pneumonia on the rise across the US, but also in South Carolina?
Dr. Kane: There are a couple of different theories as to why this is. One of those things is just something about mycoplasma. It seems to be on the rise every few years. It's always sort of had this pattern for reasons that are not completely clear. I think the other thing that's really driving this probably is the after effects of the Covid pandemic. Children, especially with social distancing and the masking and all the handwashing and all of that, I think especially young kids, weren't exposed to a lot of mycoplasma in the last couple of years. And so now they're all sort of catching up and their immunity hasn't seen this bacteria yet.
Conner: And what kind of increase in cases of this condition are we really seeing in the state of South Carolina?
Dr. Kane: So, after the Covid pandemic, we really saw very low levels of mycoplasma infection. We do a lot of virus and bacterial testing here at MUSC. And for the last couple of years, we were seeing about 1% of those tests be positive for mycoplasma. Over the last couple of months, that's increased to almost 5%. So, it's almost a five fold increase in the number of cases that we're seeing across the state.
Conner: How can walking pneumonia be treated at home?
Dr. Kane: Most kids do just fine with supportive care. That means treating their fever with Tylenol or ibuprofen, making sure they get plenty of fluids, keeping them hydrated. And then the one thing with their cough, as long as they're a year old, you can give them a spoonful of honey that can help soothe their throat. But that cough is going to be the one persistent symptom for a lot of kids.
Conner: And for children who do seek medical care because of symptoms, how is this diagnosed, first of all, and then what additional kinds of treatments might be needed for kids who are pretty sick with walking pneumonia?
Dr. Kane: Although most kids do just fine with walking pneumonia at home, there are a few who are going to develop complications. The big thing to watch for is persistent fevers and persistent cough or shortness of breath, difficulty breathing. Walking pneumonia can be diagnosed clinically just by being examined by your doctor. There's also a nasal swab that can detect the presence of this bacteria in the nose. And there's also an x ray. So, walking pneumonia can show typical findings on an x ray. And then as far as treatment goes, there's also an antibiotic out there called azithromycin which is highly effective against treating walking pneumonia.
Conner: Doctor Kane, thanks for this information about walking pneumonia.
Dr. Kane: My pleasure Bobbi. Thank you.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
