Mystery 'Covid-like' virus in China could be deadly Victorian disease, experts say

A mystery Covid-like respiratory illness that has been sweeping through China and appears to be only affecting children, could be a forgotten disease from the 19th century

A mystery respiratory illness that is sweeping through parts of China and has been likened to Covid could be a feared "walking" disease, scientists fear.

The strange unidentified virus has been causing chaos in China for weeks, with the world on high alert over fears a new pandemic could be on the way. Although it so far only seems to impact children, it saw officials in neighbouring countries such as India, who are wary of another virus spreading through their population following the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2019, readying themselves for action.

And now scientists in Indonesia are gearing up their laboratory network to test for symptoms of mycoplasma pneumonia – first detected in 1898 - and which came from animals. Although it has not been confirmed exactly what the mystery disease is, it was first spotted at the end of the 19th century as a version of cattle pneumonia.

It was later found in chickens in 1944 and then thought to have transferred to humans when it was dubbed “walking pneumonia”, as it was considered to be a type of pneumonia humans could get but still continue about their day, reported the Daily Star.

According to the Jakarta Post, the country's Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that testing for the virus is about to get underway. He told an audience that “this was done in response to the increasing cases of pneumonia due to mycoplasma bacterial infection in China.”

The current virus chaos has seen Beijing hospitals overrun after a massive increase in hospitalisations, and it has now been detected in Europe for the first time, with medical officials in both Denmark and the Netherlands confirming that the virus has taken hold there, with the latter confirming that the number of children – whom it mainly impacts – aged between five and 14 to get it has risen to 130 per 100,000 in just one week.

After three main symptoms were considered key to spotting the virus, NHS GP and GP Medico-Legal expert witness Hana Patel has now told of eight symptoms to look out for:

• A very high temperature
• Sweating and shivering
• Rapid heartbeat
• Sharp, stabbing chest pain
• Quick, shallow breaths
• Breathlessness at rest
• A dry, irritable cough
• Delirium or confusion

Since mid-October, the WHO has been monitoring data from Chinese surveillance systems that have been showing an increase in respiratory illness in children in northern China. On November 13, China's National Health Commission reported an increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases, mainly in children.

Authorities in the country said this was due to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the arrival of the cold season, and known pathogens such as influenza, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).