Government Monitoring Pneumonia Outbreak In China, Says Union Health Minister

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the government is monitoring the situation and taking necessary steps in view of the surge in cases of mycoplasma pneumonia and influenza flu, especially among children, in China.

"The government is monitoring the situation. The ICMR and the Director General of Health Services are observing the surging cases of pneumonia in China, and necessary steps are being taken," Mansukh Mandaviya told reporters when asked about the outbreak which has caused global concern.

He was in Gujarat's Mehsana district to launch the "Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra." The Union Health Ministry said in a statement Friday that India is prepared for any kind of exigency that may emerge from the current influenza situation in China, highlighting that it is monitoring the outbreak of H9N2 and clusters of respiratory illness in children in that country.

Amid global concerns over surging cases of mycoplasma pneumonia and influenza flu, especially among children, in its southern and northern provinces, China has claimed no unusual or novel pathogens other than the seasonal ones were detected.

China said the spike in respiratory diseases was due to an 'immunity gap'.

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