Denmark is currently being hit by a surge in the same type of pneumonia that has rocked China and sparked fears of a fresh pandemic.
Danish health chiefs say rates of mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacterial infection for which some antibiotics are useless, has reached 'epidemic' levels.
Beijing has pointed to the same pathogen as being partly to blame for its 'mystery' wave of pneumonia — characterised by a dangerous inflammation of the lungs — in children.
In a chilling echo of the earliest days of Covid, face masks and social distancing are being recommended in the secretive nation. Hazmat suit-clad workers have been videoed spraying disinfectant through schools, hallways and outdoors.
Denmark's Statens Serum Institut (SSI) revealed rates have tripled over the past five weeks and warned more kids will be struck down this winter.
It comes just days after the Netherlands reported its own alarming spike in children battling pneumonia, with similar reports in Denmark's neighbour Sweden.
The spread of cases has raised fears that an European outbreak of the infection is spreading across the continent.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae normally causes a mild flu-like illness, sometimes called 'walking pneumonia'. Cases are most common in younger children.
Some antibiotics, such as penicillin, have no effect.
SSI senior researcher Hanne-Dorthe Emborg said the outbreak wasn't unusual and experts had been predicting one for some time in the wake of Covid.
Dr Van Kerkhove told the conference today: 'Yes, we are seeing an increase in respiratory infections around the world.
'We’re in autumn and entering winter months, so we are expecting to see rises in respiratory infections regardless.
'We are following up with China. They are seeing an increase due a number of different infections.
The WHO made the unusual move to publicly call for China to be transparent about the outbreak, which many believe is due to its mishandling of Covid when it was accused of shielding critical information on the disease in the early stages.
It comes after Chinese Health Ministry spokesman Mi Feng urged people in the country to again consider wearing face masks and distancing.
'It is necessary to do a good job in epidemic prevention and control in key crowded places.
'[This includes] in schools, childcare institutions and nursing homes, and to reduce the flow of people and visits.'
Major pediatric hospitals are recording 7,000 admissions per day in some areas of Beijing, reports suggest.
The largest hospital in Tianjin — a province on the coast near Beijing — has allegedly been receiving more than 13,000 sick children through its doors daily.
There have also been reports of spikes in child illnesses in the province of Liaoning and in Shanghai — the country's biggest city.
Patients being admitted to hospitals are reportedly suffering from high fever and lung inflammation, but without a cough or pulmonary nodules — lumps on the lungs that are usually the result of a past infection.
Scans are also showing opaque or clear areas inside their lungs, which can be caused by bacterial infections, leading to some doctors calling the disease 'white lung syndrome'.
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