Why China’s ‘walking’ pneumonia is a wake up call

China’s pediatric hospitals are experiencing an outbreak of walking pneumonia, which is causing concern about the rise of superbugs due to drug resistance. An increasing number of children are developing severe pneumonia that is difficult to treat with antibiotics, leading to the prescription of stronger drugs. The situation is worsened by the high level of resistance to macrolide antibiotics, such as azithromycin, which is commonly used in China. Antibiotic resistance contributed to nearly 5 million deaths worldwide in 2019, according to the WHO.