Doctors say they are seeing a spike in walking pneumonia cases in parts of Canada, particularly in kids, at a time when respiratory viruses typically circulate.
Walking pneumonia is a mild form of pneumonia that often presents as a fever, cough or fatigue, but a small subset of severe cases can leave patients short of breath or with high fevers.
Dr. Earl Rubin, director of the Infectious Disease Division at Montreal Children香蕉视频直播檚 Hospital, says he香蕉视频直播檚 noticed more cases in toddlers, which is younger than the typical school-age and young adult demographic the bacterial infection usually impacts.
Although public health agencies don香蕉视频直播檛 track walking pneumonia, health-care providers in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia say they香蕉视频直播檙e seeing more cases.
Dr. Camille Lemieux, chief of family medicine at Toronto香蕉视频直播檚 University Health Network, says physicians need to be aware of this increase 香蕉视频直播� the first she香蕉视频直播檚 observed in her 30 years of practice 香蕉视频直播� because it requires a different antibiotic than regular pneumonia, and patients won香蕉视频直播檛 get better without it.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported in October a rise in walking pneumonia across the U.S., especially in young children, over the last six months, peaking in late August.
