PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

It’s cold and flu season, but cases of pneumonia seem to be popping up everywhere too. The CDC has stated that cases of bacterial infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae have increased in the United States since late spring and have remained high.

Cases have increased significantly among young children, notable because they have not historically been widely affected by Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology at UPMC, says like many respiratory viruses, Mycoplasma pneumoniae became uncommon during the pandemic because of social distancing and masking.

“This is a pathogen that goes from person to person,” he says. “When you cough or sneeze and you’re in a close environment, it’s spread by those droplets that you’re coughing or sneezing, and so its reemergence has a lot to do with now we’re back to our usual behaviors.”

Snyder notes pneumonia, which is inflammation in the lungs, could be caused by bacteria, a virus or both. For walking pneumonia, so named because you can still function while ill, symptoms mimic cold symptoms — coughing, congestion and headache.

Snyder says there are various ways to identify whether you’re experiencing the common cold or a type of pneumonia.

“If a child is having, let’s say, a persistent cough with a fever, and you take your child to the pediatrician, the pediatrician may listen to the lungs and say, ‘Aha. I can hear on the exam that sounds like there’s a pneumonia.”

A doctor could also order a chest X-ray, or they may use a nasal swab to test for the bacteria that causes pneumonia.

“Usually in most offices, those are either testing just for COVID, or they’re testing for a combination of COVID, flu and RSV, but some of those tests that doctors can use test for a bigger range of respiratory germs,” Snyder says.

Antibiotics are appropriate for bacterial pneumonia or your doctor may prescribe an anti-viral for viral pneomnia.

Snyder says to listen to your gut as to whether or not your illness is serious.

“I always encourage people to use judgment,” he says. “If you’re concerned about how sick your child looks, for example, make sure you seek medical care. It may be appropriate to go to an urgent care or [emergency department].”

Snyder says if you have a cough or fever that lasts more than a few days you should talk to your doctor about whether it could be pneumonia.

Anyone at risk of complications, such as those with asthma, should perhaps “lower your threshold to seek care and consider antibiotic treatment.”

“This can make asthma worse, and that’s one of the ways that this bacteria can cause more trouble than just a mild infection,” Snyder says.