But he added that he and others in the Boston area have seen an increase of children coming in with pneumonia infections due to what they believe to be the bacteria mycoplasma. It usually causes milder symptoms than other bacterial pneumonia, but it is difficult to diagnose because the test isn’t widely available and tough to treat because it doesn’t respond to two common classes of antibiotics.
The Department of Public Health sent out a memo last month to physicians stating that it has “received a number of reports from pediatric practices in the Boston area over the past two months of increased levels of pneumonia in children” including “isolated clusters” reported in a few elementary schools, but it didn’t say how many children have been affected.
“As flu season begins, it may be difficult to distinguish Mycoplasma infection from influenza,” said the memo. “We would like to remind all health care providers that while individual infections due to Mycoplasma are not reportable, illnesses believed to be part of a suspected or confirmed cluster or outbreak are.”
The health department emphasized in its weekly flu report that there’s still time for unvaccinated people to get their flu shot. Besides getting vaccinated, consumers can take other precautions to lower their chances of catching one of the circulating bugs. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends:
-- covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and throwing used tissues away
-- washing your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub if you can’t get to a sink
-- avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
