In recent weeks, providers with Missouri Ozarks Community Health report seeing an uptick in walking pneumonia cases, primarily among pediatric patients. The increase in cases has been noticed in Ava, Gainesville, Mansfield and Mountain Grove. “It’s been a very interesting season for pneumonia,” said Tanya Calhoun, a pediatric nurse practitioner with Missouri Ozarks. “We’ve seen a lot of mycoplasma pneumonia, which is kind of what we equate to atypical or walking pneumonia.” The local cases reflect a nationwide trend, that has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What is Mycoplasma Pneumonia?
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a bacterium that usually causes respiratory tract infections. It can also lead to pneumonia. “There’s not an easily accessible test in the outpatient setting for mycoplasma pneumoniae, therefore cases are typically diagnosed by physical exam and/or an x-ray,” said Taylour Emery, a family nurse practitioner at Missouri Ozarks. The difficulty in nailing down a diagnosis can impact how medical providers determine treatment. “In some cases, it’s not clear if it’s mycoplasma or just another bacteria causing the pneumonia,” said Calhoun. “So sometimes we do end up having to treat with a couple of different antibiotics.”
Symptoms of Walking Pneumonia and Treatment
Symptoms of walking pneumonia are like what you would expect for other respiratory infections. Some of the symptoms include cough, sore throat, fatigue, fever, chills, sneezing and headache. Calhoun said it’s important for a patient to make an appointment with their medical provider if they have a lingering cough or fever that’s lasted more than three days. “If you’re worried about your child’s breathing, it’s good to get in so that we can listen to their lungs and determine the best course of treatment,” said Calhoun.
Mycoplasma pneumonia is typically resistant to antibiotics normally prescribed by providers. But there are still treatments available. “We tend to have to treat it with azithromycin, which would be kind of a similar dosing pack to like the Z-Pak that is used for adults,” said Calhoun. Calhoun said that within a couple of days of treatment, patients should start to see improvement. If after completing treatment the cough doesn’t resolve, she said a patient should return to their medical provider.
Preventing Walking Pneumonia and Respiratory Illness
There’s not a vaccine to prevent walking pneumonia, and you can get it more than once in your lifetime. The bacteria are spread by inhaling the respiratory droplets that scatter when someone who is infected coughs or sneezes. “It’s hard sometimes in crowded areas like schools, or even sometimes we see it in nursing homes, to get away from that,” said Calhoun. Steps to prevent walking pneumonia are similar to those you would take to prevent other respiratory illnesses. Calhoun said you should avoid crowded places, cover your coughs and sneezes, wash your hands and stay home if you are sick.
