The harm caused by antibiotic drug resistance was clear to see in China’s packed pediatric hospitals.
An outbreak of walking pneumonia, normally a mild infection, struck millions of children in the second half of 2023, creating COVID-19 flashbacks and raising fears about another novel pathogen. But doctors say another real danger is the rise of superbugs, crafted by drug resistance that’s been building for years and rendering life-saving antibiotics less effective.
The threat became tangible for Rachel Qiao when her one-and-half-year-old daughter came down with a fever, cough and runny nose during the thick of Beijing’s sweltering summer. Initially, rising bacterial infections caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae didn’t trigger worry, as other countries had similar experiences with different germs after they eased pandemic-control measures.
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