'Misleading, inaccurate': Health Ministry dismisses media report linking pneumonia cases in AIIMS Delhi to China

In the latest press release, The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has claimed that media reports claiming detection of bacterial cases in AIIMS Delhi linked to the recent surge in Pneumonia cases in China are misleading and inaccurate.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday said in a press release that media reports claiming the detection of bacterial cases in AIIMS Delhi linked to the recent surge in Pneumonia cases in China are misleading and inaccurate.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is the commonest bacterial cause of community-acquired pneumonia. Pneumonia Cases in AIIMS Delhi have no link to the recent surge in respiratory infections in children in China

A recent media report in a national daily has claimed that AIIMS Delhi has detected seven bacterial cases linked to the recent surge in Pneumonia cases in China. The news report is ill-informed and provides misleading information.

"It is clarified that these seven cases have no link whatsoever to the recent surge in respiratory infections in children reported from some parts of the world, including China. The seven cases have been detected as a part of an ongoing study at AIIMS Delhi in the six-month period (April to September 2023) and are no cause for worry", the press release said.

Since January 2023 till date, NO Mycoplasma pneumonia has been detected in the 611 samples tested at the Department of Microbiology, AIIMS Delhi as a part of ICMR's multiple respiratory pathogen surveillance, which included mainly severe acute respiratory illness (SARI, which comprised about 95% of these cases) by real-time PCR.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is the commonest bacterial cause of community-acquired pneumonia. It is the reason for nearly 15-30% of all such infections. Such a surge has not been reported from any part of India.

The Union Health Ministry is in touch with state health authorities and is keeping a close watch on the situation on an everyday basis.