Tokyo, Jan 21 : Japan is experiencing a significant rise in mycoplasma pneumonia cases, with patient numbers reaching the highest levels for this time of year in the past decade.

According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the weekly average number of mycoplasma pneumonia patients per reporting medical institution reached 1.11 as of January 12, an increase of 0.34 from the previous week and the highest for this period in a decade.

Mycoplasma pneumonia, a common infection among children, causes symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headaches, and persistent coughing. In severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia and require hospitalisation. It can take 1 to 4 weeks for symptoms to appear after someone's been exposed to the bacteria. Symptoms can last for several weeks.

Meanwhile, erythema infectiosum, which begins with cold-like symptoms followed by red rashes on the cheeks, is also on the rise. Reports from approximately 3,000 medical institutions nationwide showed an average of 0.94 cases per facility in the same week compared with 0.78 from the previous week, Xinhua news agency reported.

Experts stressed the importance of infection prevention measures, including wearing masks, as influenza also remains widespread.

M pneumoniae is the pathogen most commonly associated with disease in humans. M pneumoniae is now considered a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia and is transmitted from person to person via respiratory droplets during close contact. It has an incubation period that ranges between 2 to 3 weeks.

Like most respiratory pathogens, infection usually occurs during the winter months but can happen year-round. Estimates show that around 1 per cent of the population of the United States is infected annually. Incidence may be much higher since infection can be subclinical or cause milder disease that does not require hospitalisation.

Outbreaks of mycoplasma infection occur in military recruits, hospitals, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities. Only five to ten per cent of people infected with mycoplasma develop pneumonia. It causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections in all age groups.

/IANS