The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued an update regarding the outbreak of infectious respiratory diseases in China that have caused cases of pneumonia among children in the country.
CDC spokesperson David Daigle told reporters that it would “continue to monitor the situation, collaborating with global health partners” over the increase in illness and was “in touch with local health authorities and its country office in China.”
This comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concerns last week that China was failing to provide the international community with enough information regarding the increase in respiratory illnesses that had been reported in the media and on a global outbreak surveillance system—something it had previously been criticized for during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, the WHO said in a statement that it had requested detailed epidemiological and clinical information, as well as lab results from the pneumonia clusters, but hinted that it had not heard back yet from China.
“Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in influenza-like illness compared to the same period in the previous three years. China has systems in place to capture information on trends in influenza, influenza-like illnesses, RSV and SARS-CoV-2, and reports to platforms such as the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System,” the statement read.
Meanwhile in the U.S., Republican senators are urging President Joe Biden to restrict travel between the U.S. and China.
In their letter to Biden, however, the GOP lawmakers repeatedly made references to a “mystery” and “unknown” illness affecting children in China.
“As you know, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of lying about public health crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CCP’s obfuscation of the truth, and lack of transparency, robbed the United States of vital knowledge about the disease and its origin,” the letter stated.
“We should not wait for the WHO to take action given its track record of slavish deference to the CCP. We must take the necessary steps to protect the health of Americans, and our economy. That means we should immediately restrict travel between the United States and the PRC until we know more about the dangers posed by this new illness,” it continued.
The letter was signed by Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, JD Vance of Ohio, Rick Scott of Florida, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, and Mike Braun of Indiana.
