By Kristy Volmert | Staff Writer
As the spring semester kicks off, so does “sick season.” This season has welcomed more complex, uncommon illnesses such as bronchitis and mycoplasma pneumonia that are making their way around the country.
Dr. Sharon Stern, medical director of Baylor University Health Services, said that they have seen more cases of both than usual.
There are many potential factors for this, she said. Recent winter chills and freezing temperatures caught many by surprise and also risked the health of many. The flu is currently spreading around campus, but current bronchitis and pneumonia outbreaks are creating a riskier health setting.
“Environments like a college campus have a higher risk of outbreak, mainly due to the high concentration of people living in close quarters,” Stern said.
According to a report by Dr. Thomas M. File, “Evident outbreaks [of pneumonia] often arise among people living in close quarters, households, schools, universities, healthcare facilities and the military.”
Mycoplasma pneumonia, or “walking pneumonia,” is a relatively mild form of pneumonia caused by a rare type of bacteria. Its infection can present as asymptomatic or more severe, according to Stern.
“It’s a misnomer to call it ‘walking pneumonia,’ because it can make you very sick,” Stern said. “But there are a lot of asymptomatic cases, and some very mild.”
Mycoplasma pneumonia as a complication of another virus tends to be more rare, Stern said.
“It’s not common,” she said. “Even during viral outbreaks, mycoplasma pneumonia is only seen in about 7-10% of cases.”
Stern said that there have also been several reports of mycoplasma pneumonia outbreaks outside of the Baylor community, many ongoing since August.
“They happen every few years and tend to last for about nine months,” she said. “They usually start around fall or winter and go into spring.”
Bronchitis, which is inflammation of the airways, is a much more common viral complication than pneumonia.
Stern said that bronchitis can be caused by a variety of different factors, but the cases they see at Baylor are typically due to other viruses, such as upper respiratory tract infections like the flu and COVID-19.
She also said that bronchitis can lead to pneumonia, in which case it is called “bronchial pneumonia.” Therefore, it’s a possibility for a student to come down with the flu and then bronchitis and then pneumonia. Because of this, Stern said the Health Services staff encourages students to get flu and COVID-19 vaccinations on a yearly basis.
Mycoplasma pneumonia is extremely contagious, despite what most people believe, Stern said. It has an incubation period of about two to three weeks, which means someone can be carrying and spreading it without even knowing.
“With walking pneumonia, it’s pretty likely for people that you’ve been close with will get some version of it,” Stern said.
Symptoms of pneumonia are typically flu-like but last longer and are usually more severe. A long-lasting cough, shortness of breath, chest pain and fatigue are common signs of any type of pneumonia, Stern said. Walking pneumonia will usually cause a dry cough, whereas other types of pneumonia typically cause a productive cough and high fever.
Stern said mycoplasma pneumonia tends to spread easily, even when symptoms are mild. However, when diagnosed and treated, patients are unlikely to be contagious after taking antibiotics for two days.
According to Stern, antibiotics are the primary course of treatment for pneumonia. With bronchitis, antibiotics are occasionally administered after other types of treatment are unsuccessful, since bronchitis can have a number of causes and antibiotics will not help if it isn’t bacterial.
However, Stern said that the use of antibiotics is carefully managed, and they will not be distributed unless absolutely necessary.
According to the Director of Nursing Lilia Gonzales, RN, bronchitis treatment varies by severity, but often consists of steroidal inhalers or breathing treatments, especially if the inflammation becomes chronic.
Bronchitis is a more common, mild viral complication than pneumonia. Pneumonia is caused by fluid in the lungs, which is why it can become very problematic if not treated promptly.
However, Gonzales said that it is extremely rare for walking pneumonia to require hospitalization, whereas other types can cause severe respiratory distress. But some students are immunosuppressed, which means that even just the flu can make them critically ill.
“Immunosuppressed people are at higher risk of just contracting any disease in general,” Gonzales said. “People that are under certain treatments that cause immunosuppression, or who had some kind of organ transplant, would be at higher risk.”
Stern said these potential progressions and risks of respiratory infections are good reasons to get vaccinated.
“In general, if you have a fever, we recommend that you stay home until the fever is gone for 24 hours,” Stern said. “If you’re coughing, we always recommend that you wear a mask when you’re in a closed environment where there’s a lot of people.”
