China’s disease control authority said Friday it was testing a surveillance system for pneumonia of unknown origin, with cases of some respiratory illnesses expected to rise over the winter.

The decision to establish a dedicated system aims to help authorities put protocols in place to deal with unknown pathogens, unlike the lower level of preparedness five years ago, when the novel coronavirus that causes COVID- 19 appeared for the first time.

The National Disease Control and Prevention Administration will establish a procedure for laboratories to report cases and for disease control and prevention agencies to verify and handle cases, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a administration official during a press conference.

Data on acute respiratory illnesses showed an upward trend in the total number of infections during the week of December 16-22, according to an official statement released on Thursday.

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China is likely to be hit by various respiratory infectious diseases in winter and spring, Kan Biao, another official, said at the news conference. He said, without elaborating, that the total number of cases this year would be lower than last year.

Recently detected cases include pathogens such as rhinovirus and human metapneumovirus, with cases of human metapneumovirus in people under 14 years showing an increasing trend, particularly in the northern provinces.

In a recent interview with National Business Daily, a state-backed newspaper, a respiratory expert from a Shanghai hospital warned the public against indiscriminate use of antiviral drugs to combat human metapneumovirus, for which there is no vaccine but the symptoms resemble those of a cold.

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