Walking pneumonia caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae is on the rise: shots

Mycoplasma pneumonia causes upper respiratory symptoms, including persistent cough. You may also experience red eyes or rashes.

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If you or your child has a persistent cough, read on. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases of mycoplasma pneumonia are increasing sharply in the United States, particularly among young children.

Preeti Sharma is a pediatric pulmonologist who has witnessed the rise up close. She is an associate professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern and Children's Health in Dallas and a mother of two. At the end of May, her 12-year-old daughter came home from school with a typical summer cold.

“She had a runny nose, a little sneezing, a slight sore throat, a slight feeling of tiredness and a reduced appetite,” says Sharma.

And then the coughing started. “We just watched it progress until she had this very persistent, deep, annoying cough,” she says.

This cough tipped off Sharma that her daughter had mycoplasma pneumonia. It is caused by an infection with the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae. According to the CDC, cases in the U.S. began increasing in the spring and summer, and that increase continued into the fall. Sharma says there was a big spike in Dallas after kids went back to school.

This photo shows a pair of green Crocs shoes resting on a colorful carpet.

“Children spread it among themselves in schools and they probably also bring it home to their parents and families,” says Sharma.

Mycoplasma pneumonia usually presents with upper respiratory symptoms, but some children may also develop red eyes or skin rashes. Headaches are also common.

Caleb Ward is a pediatric emergency physician at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he says cases of mycoplasma pneumonia have increased about tenfold this year. He says the good news is that many cases are mild – which is why it's often referred to as walking pneumonia.

“In the past, people might go to school or work assuming they only had some kind of mild cold virus and actually had mycoplasma pneumonia,” Ward says.

New York City is also seeing a rise in cases. Dr. Adam Ratner, director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at New York University and Hassenfeld Children's Hospital, says people of any age can be affected, although the infection typically occurs in children and adolescents ages 5 to 17.

However, “that has changed in the last year with this current increase,” Ratner says. While the infection is still more common in older children, he says there are more cases between the ages of 2 and 4. “This is being seen across the country and is consistent with what we are seeing here,” said Ratner, who is also a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases.

Sharma, Ward and Ratner agree that most children can be treated at home – just keep them hydrated, give them age-appropriate medication for their fever if needed, and make sure they get plenty of rest. If a child is older than 1 year, honey can help relieve cough.

As for when to call the doctor, Ward says: “If parents or caregivers notice that their child is having trouble breathing, not drinking enough fluids to stay hydrated, seems much sleepier than usual , or if they continue to be sick – especially with a fever – for more than five days they should be seen by a healthcare provider.”

Mycoplasma pneumonia is easily treated with antibiotics, says Dr. Preeti Sharma, as long as you get the right antibiotics. Amoxicillin – the antibiotic of choice for children with other types of pneumonia – does not work against mycoplasma pneumonia, so a macrolide antibiotic such as azithromycin is required.

According to Sharma, children can return to school if they are fever-free for at least 24 hours and without the use of fever reducers – as long as they feel physically able to do so.

However, keep in mind that symptoms such as cough and runny nose can last for weeks, and people may be shedding infectious bacteria all the time. Doctors say this is one of the reasons mycoplasma pneumonia outbreaks tend to last a long time.

So it's a good time to remind children – and ourselves – to wash our hands and cover our coughs and sneezes. After all, the winter season of respiratory viruses is just beginning.