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       U.S. Health Officials Push Back on Idea of New Virus in China

       A surge of children has been hospitalized in China for respiratory illnesses, but international health authorities said the cause was common viruses and bacteria.

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       The waiting room of a children’s hospital in Beijing last month. Experts say there are no signs of a threatening new pathogen. Credit...Jade Gao/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

       By Benjamin Mueller and Emily Baumgaertner

       Dec. 1, 2023

       A small group of Republican senators on Friday called on President Biden to ban travel from China to protect against an outbreak of respiratory illnesses in children there, even as scientists and global and American health officials said there were no signs of a threatening new pathogen.

       Instead, those experts said, the evidence so far pointed to a surge of age-old infectious agents such as influenza, driven by the colder weather and China’s emergence from stringent Covid lockdowns. The World Health Organization said last week that China had shared data about its outbreak, including laboratory results from infected children, that did not show any unusual pathogens.

       Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, echoed that assessment on Friday. She said American officials had also been in touch with Chinese authorities, academic experts and health workers.

       “What we have all been able to ascertain is that there is no novel pathogen,” she said. “This is all related to upticks of known viruses and bacteria in their pediatric population.”

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       Benjamin Mueller is a health and science reporter. Previously, he covered the coronavirus pandemic as a correspondent in London and the police in New York. More about Benjamin Mueller

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