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Ministry reassures public following six mycoplasma pneumonia cases
All patients, children between 3 and 12 years old in Jakarta, have recovered following treatments in hospitals and as outpatients, according to the Health Ministry.
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Several commuters wear masks upon getting off the train at Karet Station in Central Jakarta on Dec. 6, 2023. The Health Ministry has urged people to wear face masks amid the rise of COVID-19 cases and the discovery of mycoplasma pneumonia in the city. (Antara/Putu Indah Savitri)
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he Health Ministry has urged the public to remain calm despite the announcement of six confirmed cases of mycoplasma pneumonia, a disease thought to be behind a recent pneumonia outbreak in northern China.
All the confirmed cases were children whose ages ranged from 3 to 12 years old in Jakarta, according to Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, the ministry’s disease control and prevention director general, in a press briefing on Wednesday.
Two patients were admitted to Medistra Hospital in South Jakarta in October and another one was treated in the Joy Women and Children Community (JWCC) hospital, also in South Jakarta. The rest of the cases were treated as outpatients.
All patients had fully recovered as of Wednesday, Maxi said.
The ministry is currently launching epidemiological surveillance to find the source of the infections and prevent further spread of the disease. It is also planning to instruct regional health authorities to educate teachers and schools about the disease, since the Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacterium commonly infects children.
“We’ve urged doctors and health workers to report any case of mycoplasma pneumonia to the ministry within 24 hours upon discovery,” Maxi said.
While urging healthcare workers and schools to be vigilant against the disease, he called on the public to remain calm, emphasizing the fact that this variant of pneumonia is not a new illness with typically mild symptoms.
