英语新闻丨Surge in sick kids sparks call for resources

China's top health authority on Monday required localities to "exhaust all means" to increase pediatric service capacity and stock up on pediatric medications and relevant medical materials to cope with a spike in respiratory illnesses among children.

周一，国家卫健委要求各地“竭尽所能”提高儿科服务能力，并储备儿科药物和相关医疗材料，以应对儿童呼吸疾病激增的情况。

All grassroots medical institutions should be open to child patients and are forbidden from turning them away, the general office of the National Health Commission said in a circular released on its website.

国家卫健委总办公室在其网站发布的通知中表示，所有基层医疗机构应面向儿童患者开放，不得拒诊。

"Community healthcare centers in cities seeing surging demand should also extend hours on weekdays by one to three hours or set up additional service periods on weekends based on their capability," said the commission.

“在需求激增的城市社区卫生中心，根据医院容纳患者能力，还应在工作日延长一至三小时或在周末增设额外的门诊时段，” 卫健委表示。

Rural and community health centers should be guided to set up separate sections for pediatric services, and they should organize general physicians who have received training on pediatric diseases to see child patients.

农村和社区卫生中心应设立专门的儿科服务区，并引导经过儿科疾病培训的全科医生为儿童患者提供门诊服务。

Each community or village healthcare center should be paired with a pediatric department at a higher-level hospital. Experienced medical professionals will be allocated to grassroots facilities to provide pediatric services and train staff on key skills, including emergency care, prompt identification of severe symptoms and venipuncture — the process of inserting a needle into a child's vein.

每个社区或村庄的卫生中心应与更高级别医院的儿科部门配对。将经验丰富的医疗专业人员分散到基层医疗机构，提供儿科服务并培训医务工作者的关键技能，包括急救护理、及时识别严重症状的能力，以及静脉注射——即对儿童进行静脉扎针的能力。

Localities are also required to equip grassroots facilities with thermometers, nebulizers, antibiotics, antivirals, as well as pediatric medicines for easing cough and phlegm.

各地还需为基层卫生设施配备体温计、雾化器、抗生素、抗病毒药物，以及止咳化痰的儿科药物。

These requirements have been raised as China is battling a surge in respiratory illness fueled by the circulation of different pathogens including influenza, the COVID-19 disease and mycoplasma pneumoniae.

由于我国呼吸道疾病激增，包括流感、新冠疫情和支原体肺炎等不同病原体的传播，因此国家卫健委提出了这些要求。

Children have appeared to be affected particularly hard this winter as parents have found difficulties obtaining hospital appointments or have to endure long waiting periods at major pediatric hospitals. Despite authorities' appeal to the public to visit primary health institutions first rather than going straight to large hospitals, concerns have emerged over the community clinics' capability and capacity in handling pediatric patients.

今年冬季，儿童受到的影响似乎尤为严重，因为父母难以预约门诊，或不得不忍受较长的重点儿科医院等待时间。尽管政府呼吁公众优先于基层卫生机构就诊，而非直接前往大型医院，但人们对社区诊所吸纳儿科患者的能力和容量有所担忧。

Wang Huaqing, chief immunization planning expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said late last month that influenza and rhinovirus are the most prevalent among toddlers aged 1 to 4, and for children aged 5 to 14, influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia and adenovirus are the most common.

中国疾病预防控制中心的首席免疫规划专家王华清11月底表示，1到4岁的幼儿中，流感和鼻病毒最为普遍，而5到14岁的儿童中，流感、支原体肺炎和腺病毒最为常见。

Tong Zhaohui, vice-president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, suggested a child who begins developing a fever to visit a community hospital to first take a rapid antigen test, which can identify whether they contracted a respiratory virus or a bacterial infection like mycoplasma pneumonia. They can also get regular antivirals and drugs there.

首都医科大学附属北京朝阳医院副院长童朝晖建议，开始发烧的孩子首先应该去社区医院进行快速抗原测试，以确定他们是否感染了呼吸疾病病毒或类似支原体肺炎的细菌感染。他们还可以在社区医院获得常规的抗病毒药物和药物。

"However, for kids who have had a fever for more than three days or have shortness of breath, they should visit pediatric hospitals," he said during an interview with China Central Television on Sunday evening.

“但是，发烧超过三天或呼吸急促的患儿应该去儿科医院，”上周日晚间，他在接受中国中央电视台采访时表示。

Tong added that most doctors at primary health institutions are trained in general medicine and are capable of dealing with common respiratory illnesses in children.

童朝晖补充说，大多数基层卫生机构的医生都接受了全科医学培训，能够处理儿童常见的呼吸道疾病。

"It is important for them to access prompt treatment at medical facilities nearby, and in this way, parents and kids can save the trouble of lining up at large hospitals, where the risk of cross-infections is higher," he said.

“对患者来说，及时在附近的医疗机构接受治疗非常重要，这样父母和孩子就能避免在大型医院排队等候，在大型医院，交叉感染的风险更高，”他说。

The commission also said in the newly released notice that grassroots medical facilities should play a role in meeting demands for pediatric services, easing pressure on major hospitals seeing large volume of visitors, as well as monitoring health conditions of and expanding vaccination among key populations.

卫健委还在新发布的通知中表示，基层医疗机构应在满足儿科服务需求、减轻大型医院患者压力，以及监测和扩大关键人群的疫苗接种方面发挥作用。

According to the document, fever clinics at grassroots clinics should also keep surveillance of the situation of respiratory disease and report data to higher authorities swiftly.

根据该通知，基层诊所的发热门诊还应对呼吸系统疾病的情况进行监测，并迅速向上级报告数据。

Pediatric medications

n.儿科药物

The National Health Commission

n.国家卫健委