Walking pneumonia cases rise among Charlotte kids

Symptoms include fatigue, cough, sore throat and fever, spreading through airborne respiratory droplets

The following article appeared in the Nov. 4, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.

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Most cases are treatable without hospitalization, healthcare systems say 

Walking pneumonia is increasing, doctors say. (AI-generated photo illustration/ChatGPT)

Parents, here’s something to be on the lookout for if your kids start coughing: Walking pneumonia infections among children are on the rise in the Charlotte area and nationally, experts from Atrium Health and Novant Health say. 

The respiratory tract infection, often caused by a bacteria called Mycoplasma pneumoniae, can include symptoms such as fatigue, cough, sore throat and fever. 

It spreads easily, experts say, because it travels by airborne respiratory droplets from an infected person who’s coughing, sneezing, talking or singing, according to a news release from Novant Health. A person with walking pneumonia is contagious for up to 10 days unless antibiotics are started. 

Doctors advise parents to take their kids to their pediatrician or urgent care if they have a cough or fever that lasts longer than two or three days, so they can be screened for walking pneumonia. Doctors make the diagnosis by listening to the lungs or through an X-ray. 

Data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an uptick nationally in the last six months of this strain of pneumonia in emergency rooms. The highest increase was among children, rising from 1% to 7.2% of pneumonia-related diagnoses among those ages 2-4 years and from 3.6% to 7.4% among those ages 5-17. 

“The increase in children ages 2-4 is notable because M. pneumoniae historically hasn’t been recognized as a leading cause of pneumonia in this age group,” according to the CDC. 

Parents have been lighting up Charlotte-area parenting social media accounts in recent days about the rising number of pneumonia infections. Posts on the Charlotte Moms and Fort Mill Moms Facebook pages have dozens of commenters saying their kids have been recently diagnosed. —Cristina Bolling

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