WHO asks China for more information about rise in illnesses and pneumonia clusters

By JAMEY KEATEN and MARIA CHENG
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says it has made an official request to China for information about a potentially worrying spike in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children. The U.N. health agency cited unspecified media reports and a global infectious disease monitoring service as reporting clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China. The emergence of new diseases, particularly new flu strains or other viruses capable of triggering pandemics, typically starts with undiagnosed clusters of respiratory illness. Both SARS and COVID-19 were first reported as unusual types of pneumonia.