The respiratory disease outbreak in China has been sweeping the country for months, overwhelming hospitals with more and more severe pneumonia cases and sudden deaths reported by the public.
However, the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been downplaying the outbreak and avoiding mention of COVID-19 as ordered by the CCP top leader, despite the similarities in symptoms. Instead, the CCP’s health authorities have attributed the ongoing outbreak to various other pathogens in the past months, such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, RSV, influenza A, and now influenza B.
As the outbreak continues to worsen, Peng Zhibin, director of the Respiratory Infectious Diseases Division of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at China’s National Health Commission’s press briefing on Jan. 25 that currently, acute respiratory diseases in China are dominated by influenza, of which influenza B has recently accounted for more infections, resulting in small fluctuations in the influenza epidemic.
Several mainland Chinese doctors publicly stated in recent days that “the influenza B”epidemic has swept across the country. One said the symptoms have been even worse than COVID-19. Hospitals everywhere in the country are overflowing with huge crowds of patients. There have also been more reports of sudden deaths now, and the deceased “has no age limit.”
‘More Severe Than COVID-19’
Dr. Zhong Ruolei, the director of the Vascular Surgery Department of Jianghan University Affiliated Hospital (Wuhan Sixth Hospital), said in a video program on Jan. 24, “I would like to remind everyone urgently that the proportion of influenza B is increasing. Some of my family members and friends are infected, and the symptoms are even more severe than COVID-19, and most of them occur in children.”
COVID-19 has never disappeared from China. After the massive outbreak at the end of 2022 and early 2023 that killed countless people, causing severe symptoms such as white lungs, another round of pneumonia outbreak has been noticed spreading in the country since last September, especially among children. It then was also observed spreading in other age groups.
However, the country has stopped COVID-19 testing since last December and with the CCP’s deliberate avoidance of COVID, the public is now suspicious amid the CCP’s information censorship that the wave of sickness could be another wave of COVID-19 caused by a new mutated strain.
A pediatrician in Guangxi Province in southern China said in a video posted to his social media channel on Jan. 24 that “influenza B” has broken out across the country and many children have been infected.
Pharmacist Xu, who is certified as a licensed pharmacist in Yantai city’s Deyuchang Pharmacy in Shandong Province, posted a video on social media, saying that the “influenza B” epidemic is sweeping across the country.
“In the past year, influenza outbreaks have occurred repeatedly, and outpatient clinics are also overcrowded. Recently, influenza strains in Beijing and other places have evolved to be dominated by influenza B, and some people have been infected more than once. This is mainly caused by poor immunity.”
Hospitals Overcrowded; White Lungs, Sudden Deaths More Common
A resident in Wuhan, Hubei Province, posted a video on his social media account “Xiao Zhu Daily,” which recorded a scene at the Wuhan Union Medical College Hospital on the morning of Jan. 23. He said in the video, “Early in the morning, there are so many people in this hospital. The patients are everywhere. It could be said to be a sea of people. People who came to the hospital are all wearing masks, and there were very few who were not wearing them.”
Residents in northeast China told The Epoch Times of similar situations in the north.
Mr. Wang from Jilin Province said on Jan. 24 that there are many adults and children who are infected in Changchun City. There are so many patients that appointments in some hospitals are all full and people have to wait 20 days to see a doctor.
“My grandson caught a cold, and I took him to Changchun Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine to see a doctor. There were also a lot of people there. I went to the inpatient area and saw that it’s all full.” Mr. Wang said that in the hospital he saw a little girl about 10 years old who was told she had white lungs and fell into a coma. An expert was quickly called over to take a look at her and ordered to send the girl to the inpatient ward.
Xiao Yang (pseudonym), a Harbin citizen, told The Epoch Times that recently many people have had recurring fevers. “My colleague’s child was sick and he took the child to see a doctor in the hospital. He said the hospital was very crowded.”
Mr. Zhang, a citizen of Harbin city in Heilongjiang Province, said that many people are infected with the virus. “I have been infected for more than two months, and I am still not recovered. I am relying on my own immunity to fight the virus.”
Mr. Zhang said that in addition to himself, his mother is still coughing and his 1-year-old granddaughter also has pneumonia. “There is no effective treatment, just taking some medicine or IV treatment. Doctors cannot guarantee that the patient will be cured after taking them.”
He believes that he was actually infected with COVID-19 because his cough never goes away. “If it was a common cold or fever, it would naturally get better after a while.”
Mr. Zhang also said that there are people suddenly dying unexpectedly everywhere, which has become common. “People who died suddenly are of all ages, there is no age difference anymore.”
Outbreak in Shanxi Worsening
Residents in many places in Shanxi Province in west China told The Epoch Times that a large number of people have been infected and many have died.
Guo Chao (pseudonym), a citizen of Datong city in Shanxi Province, said that he was infected with the virus and only recovered recently. “Many people have been infected and have the same symptoms and contagiousness as COVID-19. As long as one person is infected, it will be transmitted to others. Even small clinics are full of patients, which feels pretty serious.”
Mr. Guo said: “A man in our company said that in his village [hometown] in Shanyin City, 15 people died this winter. Their village is not big, with 200 to 300 people, and 15 people died.” Mr. Guo added that because the rural areas are very poor, many farmers have little medical resources and when they are ill, they can only suffer through it.
The deputy chief physician of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of Shuanghui Town Health Center in Wangcang County posted a video on his social media account on Jan. 23 saying that currently, the “influenza B” virus has broken out in many areas of Shanxi. People with weak immunity have been infected. Many people have developed fever, cough, and other symptoms—not just children.
The CCP authorities and Shanxi officials have not reported on the current epidemic in Shanxi.
Fang Xiao and Xiong Bin contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times