Walking Pneumonia Increasing In Washington, Symptoms To Watch

I recently went down a rabbit hole after reading that Brittany Murphy's 2009 cause of death was partly attributed to Pneumonia. Shockingly, five months later, her husband, Simon Monjack, was found dead due to also from acute pneumonia and severe anemia.

Walking Pneumonia On The Rise

The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases issued a nationwide alert last month concerning a sharp increase in walking pneumonia.

The report mentioned that respiratory infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae have increased in the United States.

"Bacterial infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae increased in the United States since late spring and have remained high.” - The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

 

Young Children Ages 5-17 are most at risk.

Health officials say that the number of young children has significantly increased in recent weeks.

The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases reports that walking pneumonia occurs at any age but is most common among children ages 5–17 and young adults.

“M. pneumoniae infections are generally mild and mostly present as a chest cold but may also present as pneumonia. Symptom onset is typically gradual, including fever, cough, and a sore throat.” -The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

 

Symptoms To Watch For Include

• Fever
• Headache
• Slowly worsening cough
• Fatigue

If you or someone in your family deals with asthma or a reactive airway disease - you are at a higher risk of "severe disease." The symptoms of walking pneumonia are typically mild. 

Younger children may show the following symptoms:

*  Diarrhea

* Wheezing

* Vomiting

How It Spreads, How To Avoid

Be warned. You might want to hold your breath if you're near someone who coughs or sneezes. (I'm not kidding.) Walking pneumonia is spread through respiratory droplets.

Handwashing and covering coughs limit the spread.

The Good News

Most people with little time with someone sick with M. pneumoniae don't get infected. However, people who spend a lot of time with someone who is ill with M. pneumoniae are at increased risk.