Walking pneumonia cases in Ontario have nearly tripled since 2019: report
CTV
The number of walking pneumonia cases seen in Ontario this year is triple the amount of what was reported in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of walking pneumonia cases seen in Ontario this year is triple the amount of what was reported in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a Public Health Ontario (PHO) report, published Friday, the province has seen the highest number of walking pneumonia cases since it began tracking the data in 2019. Of the 4,069 cases examined so far by PCR testing, 733 tested positive, or 18 per cent.
Compared to 2023, the health agency reported 23 positive cases out of 2,542 throughout the year, representing less than one per cent. In 2019, there were 137 positive cases out of 2,368, or 5.8 per cent.
Walking pneumonia, formally known as mycoplasma pneumoniae, is a mild form of bacteria that presents symptoms like a fever or a cough, but can lead to respiratory infection. Pneumonia caused by this type of bacteria is typically less severe, hence its colloquial name.
"It's a relatively common infection that can cause a lot of different syndromes, including pneumonia," Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases specialist, told CTV News on Tuesday morning. "It can impact anyone of any age but it does impact younger cohorts, mostly kids and teenagers."
The health agency says this bacteria tends to be more active over the late summer and early fall months, with larger cyclical increases typically happening every three to seven years – something Bogoch also mentioned.
"There's periodic outbreaks of this. For example, last year, China had a big outbreak of it, we had periodic outbreaks of it, in Canada, in the United States, we're seeing a rise in cases earlier in the year," Bogoch said.
