Increase of respiratory illnesses among children in Beijing, China, during the autumn and winter of 2023

In 2023, through an ongoing respiratory pathogen surveillance system, we observed from mid-September onwards, an increase of respiratory illness among children aged <= 15 years presenting at hospital out-patient clinics in Beijing, China. Data indicated that illness was caused by multiple pathogens, predominantly Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Seasonality, periodicity and high prevalence of resistance to macrolide (30 of 30 strains sequenced with the A2063G mutation) were important characteristics of the M. pneumoniae epidemic, which resulted in a rise in consultations at specialised paediatric hospitals.