China's respiratory illness surge not as high as pre-pandemic - WHO official

By Andrew Silver SHANGHAI (Reuters) -The spike in respiratory illnesses that China is currently suffering is not as high as before the COVID-19 pandemic, a World Health Organisation official said, reiterating that no new or unusual pathogens had been found in the recent cases. Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO's department of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the increase appeared to be driven by a rise in the number of children contracting pathogens that they had avoided during two years of COVID restrictions. "We asked about comparisons prior to the pandemi...