‘Walking pneumonia’ is surging ahead of cold and flu season
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. If you’ve had a lingering cough recently, there’s a chance the culprit wasn’t Covid-19, flu or RSV, but mycoplasma pneumoniae. Levels of this milder lung infection—which can lead to “walking pneumonia"—are 10 times greater than last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Though the CDC doesn’t officially track the disease, it issued an alert last month noting the rise in cases. Levels of walking pneumonia, so named because patients often feel well enough to go about their normal daily activities, typically peak every three to seven years. Chris Edens, lead of the CDC team that tracks Legionella and atypical pathogens, said the agency saw a rise of cases in late spring.
It peaked in August then declined a bit. The decrease might not last, he adds, noting “levels seem to be flattening out or maybe even ticking back up." Cases of walking pneumonia are up across all age groups, with children 17 and under experiencing the largest rise, says Edens. Symptoms of the respiratory illness caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae can include cough, fever and a sore throat, say doctors.
If the bacteria damages the throat and lungs, the result can be a less severe form of pneumonia. Someone with typical pneumonia feels ill enough to stay home in bed, but if you have walking pneumonia, it might take an X-ray of your lungs to reveal significant infection, says Edens. The CDC estimates about two million people a year get mycoplasma pneumoniae infections.
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