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Health Ministry prepares lab network to test mycoplasma pneumonia
A surge in mycoplasma pneumonia cases in China, impacting primarily children, has raised global concern. Indonesia's Health Ministry is readying labs for its diagnosis.
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Children and their parents wait at an outpatient area at a children hospital in Beijing on Nov. 23, 2023. The World Health Organization asked China on the same day for more data on a respiratory illness spreading in the north of the country, urging people to take steps to reduce the risk of infection. China has reported an increase in “influenza-like illness“ since mid-October when compared with the same period in the previous three years, the WHO said. (AFP/Jade Gao)
T
he Health Ministry is gearing up its laboratory network to diagnose symptoms of mycoplasma pneumonia, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced at the Sudirman Institute in Jakarta on Monday.
"We are setting up the laboratory network to facilitate testing," Budi said as quoted by Antara news agency.
Budi said the ministry had equipped several laboratories with the chemical reagents to detect mycoplasma pneumonia.
The ministry has issued Circular No. PM.03.01/C/4732/2023 on alertness against mycoplasma pneumonia incidents in Indonesia.
The move follows a surge in “mysterious” pneumonia in China, particularly affecting children. While the exact cause of the pneumonia has not been determined, Chinese media reported that three out of four patients were diagnosed with mycoplasma infections.
The phenomenon is not limited to China, as reports also indicate the emergence of similar cases in the Netherlands.
According to Budi, mycoplasma pneumonia, an atypical bacterium causing lung infections, was not a new type of illness. However, the prevalence of this disease in Indonesia is relatively low.
