No-BS top doctor Nick Coatsworth calls out fear-mongering over 'mystery illness' from China

A prominent Australian doctor has shut down reports a 'mystery illness' from China affecting children that has been widely reported in recent weeks - and says it is a known form of pneumonia.

Dr Nick Coatsworth, who is Australia's former deputy chief health officer, said what has been called 'white lung syndrome' - because of the distinctive white patches on chest x-rays of affected children - is, in fact, a known form of pneumonia. 

'It's not a mystery new illness, rather it's a manufactured term to squeeze a bit more juice out of our fear of infectious pathogens,' he explained. 

Two weeks ago, news broke of an outbreak of a 'mysterious' pneumonia, dubbed 'white lung syndrome' in China that had been spreading since May, but was not previously reported to the rest of the world. 

The six months delay in sharing the information prompted the World Health Organisation to send official requests to China for more data.

The spike in the pneumonia among children that has been attributed to a rebound in respiratory illnesses rather than an entirely new virus.

China had one of the most brutal and longest lockdowns of any country in the world which the WHO says robbed children of vital immunity against seasonal illnesses. 

The WHO made the unusual move to publicly call for China to be transparent about the outbreak, which many believe is due to its mishandling of Covid when it was accused of shielding critical information on the disease in the early stages.

It comes after Chinese Health Ministry spokesman Mi Feng urged people in the country to again consider wearing face masks and distancing.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, he said: 'Efforts should be made to increase the opening of relevant clinics and treatment areas, extend service hours and increase the supply of medicines.

'It is necessary to do a good job in epidemic prevention and control in key crowded places.

'[This includes] in schools, childcare institutions and nursing homes, and to reduce the flow of people and visits.'

Major paediatric hospitals are recording 7,000 admissions per day in some areas of Beijing, reports suggest.

The largest hospital in Tianjin — a province on the coast near Beijing — has allegedly been receiving more than 13,000 sick children through its doors daily.

There have also been reports of spikes in child illnesses in the province of Liaoning and in Shanghai — the country's biggest city.

Patients being admitted to hospitals are reportedly suffering from high fever and lung inflammation, but without a cough or pulmonary nodules — lumps on the lungs that are usually the result of a past infection.

Scans are also showing opaque or clear areas inside their lungs, which can be caused by bacterial infections, leading to some doctors calling the disease 'white lung syndrome'.

The WHO is under pressure to be tougher on China after its response early in the Covid pandemic.

The agency is still reeling from suggestions that it protected Beijing by parroting its line that Covid could not spread from person to person despite having no evidence to support the claim.