TOLEDO, Ohio — You may have seen reports on social media warning about "white lung pneumonia" in children, that it's spreading here in Ohio or that it's connected to an illness in China.
That's false. Here's what we know about pneumonia in northwest Ohio.
Respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, RSV and influenza can be diagnosed more frequently during the fall and winter.
However, a social media post went viral after suggesting a new bacteria and respiratory illness called "white lung syndrome" is spreading in the U.S. and around the world.
Dr. Michael Mattin, medical director at the Toledo Hospital ER Department, said "white lung" is not even a real medical term.
"I literally googled it in four places and I'm like, "Am I missing something?'" he said.
The Warren County Health District, just northeast of Cincinnati, on Nov. 29 reported an "extremely high" number of pediatric pneumonia cases with 142 cases in children since August, meeting the qualification of an "outbreak."
But it did not use the term "white lung" and said it's not a "novel/new respiratory disease but rather a large uptick in the number of pneumonia cases normally seen at one time."
Mattin said it is not uncommon to see an increase in viral and bacterial pneumonia when we see an increase in respiratory illnesses. And while we may see an increase, there is no evidence to suggest any connection to China or even a real cause for alarm in Ohio.
"I haven't really seen compelling evidence that the outbreak being reported is a definitive outbreak yet," Mattin said.
Dr. Noah Sutter, a pediatrician at Maumee Pediatric Associates, said you can lean into what knowledge gained during the pandemic to stay healthy.
"Avoid indoor places with lots of people and avoid obviously ill people," he said. "It's not a bad idea to mask up if you're in some of those settings, it's just falling back on a lot of the skills we learned before."