DENTON COUNTY, Texas — The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a warning about an unusual increase in cases of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae.
Cases of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae have surged nationwide, the CDC says. Hospitals in North Texas are also seeing a sharp uptick in Mycoplasma Pneumoniae cases, a common cause of mild respiratory illness.
Cook Children’s Health Care System and Children’s Medical Center Dallas both report a surge in positive cases.
According to data from Cook Children’s, between Oct. 20 and 26, Cook Children’s tested 626 patients for Mycoplasma Pneumoniae and 137 tested positive (22%).
Between the end of September and early October of 2024, Cook Children’s reported between 80-90 positive cases. It’s a sharp increase from 2023 when Cook Children’s reported 0 positive cases during the same timeframe.
Dr. Jason Terk, a pediatrician for Cook Children’s said cases are running rampant.
“It’s a fairly common thing, but we’re seeing the highest number of cases in the last five years right now,”
Terk said. “Fortunately, the majority of our patients have a fairly mild illness that is easily treated.”
Terk said common symptoms are fever and fatigue. It can affect people of any age but is most common among older children and adults.
“There are specific antibiotics needed to treat this infection, and the usual one is not going to be effective for this particular bacteria,” Terk said.
Terk said it’s unclear why cases have risen much higher than in previous years.
“We don’t really know, but we have some theories,” Terk said. “There’s a hypothesis that because of the lockdown we have immunity debt. That there’s been a lack of exposure to infectious diseases, and because of that, we’re seeing higher frequencies of them when they hit the community.”
Aubrey, TX mother Cecelia Jones told WFAA her 10-year-old daughter Kinsey ended up in the emergency room at Cook Children’s in Prosper after her daughter was diagnosed with the illness.
“It was one of those barking coughs,” Jones said. “It just sounded really bad.”
Jones said she took her daughter to two urgent care centers and put her through 10 breathing treatments before it was diagnosed.
“She just didn’t get any better her oxygen level was still low,” Jones said. "You've got to trust your gut and if this is not usual for your child then maybe you need to get that call to urgent care to see a doctor."
Jones praised the staff at Cook Children’s for the care and treatment they provided Kinsey over the course of two days in an emergency room.
Dr. Terk said the illness is highly contagious, but it can be easily treated with the right medication.