
Fort Worth mycoplasma pneumonia cases on the rise in children of all ages
(Cook Children’s Health Care System)
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The emergency department at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth is seeing a spike in children being admitted with a contagious bacterial infection: mycoplasma pneumonia.
To prevent the spread of the disease, Cook Children’s experts advise parents to practice good hand-washing and keep children at home when they’re not feeling well.
Mycoplasma pneumonia causes upper respiratory tract infections that can lead to “walking pneumonia” in children. This summer, the disease is being seen in every age group, from infants to adolescents.
The infection spreads when children are in close contact with others who are contagious, often at summer camps and swimming pools.
During the week of June 24, 398 patients at the Fort Worth medical center were tested for the infection. Eighty of those patients tested positive, a 20% positivity rate.
This time last year, there was a 0% positivity rate, according to Cook Children’s.
“This is a really common bacterial infection that’s been around for a long time. We’ve just been sitting at really elevated rates of it in our community over the past month,” said Dr. Nicholas Rister, infectious disease expert with Cook Children’s.
Data from Cook Children’s shows that rates for mycoplasma pneumonia have risen over the past several weeks. (Courtesy image | Cook Children’s Health Care System)
Mycoplasma pneumonia is a treatable disease that spreads through respiratory droplets. Symptoms take one to four weeks to appear and can last for several weeks. The disease is most commonly seen in children under the age of 6.
Doctors will most likely prescribe sick children azithromycin, which works by killing the bacteria associated with mycoplasma, said Dr. Stephanie Felton, a pediatric emergency medicine physician in the Cook Children’s emergency department.
“The really great news about mycoplasma is it’s very easily treatable, and it has a self-limited portion, too,” she said.
The disease usually presents with cold-like symptoms, which include feeling tired and having a sore throat, headache, shortness of breath, and worsening cough and fever. Children under the age of 5 may experience additional symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting, watery eyes, runny nose or wheezing.
About 10% of cases are more severe, especially for children with preexisting conditions like asthma, according to Cook Children’s.
Severe symptoms of mycoplasma pneumonia include prolonged coughing, fever, pink eye, rashes in the mouth, and rashes and blisters on the skin.
“If you look in the back of the mouth of your kids, you might see little vesicles, or little bumps in the back of the throat, that can be very painful when they’re drinking or eating. That might prime you to think it may be mycoplasma,” Felton said.
If your child has a fever for more than five days, is showing signs of dehydration or is having difficulty breathing, Cook Children’s experts advise you take them to an emergency department.
David Moreno is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
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