GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Late last month, a county in Ohio saw an increase in childhood pneumonia. Health officials called it "White Lung Syndrome," leading many people to believe a new virus was about to sweep the country.
"That's not a real condition," said Dr. Gustavo Cumbo-Nacheli, a Pulmonologist at Corewell Health.
Cumbo-Nacheli says White Lung syndrome is not a new disease, rather a description of someone with a more common infection.
"It's more of a radiological finding meaning when somebody gets an X-ray and the lung doesn't look black, actually starts looking white," said Cumbo-Nacheli, "It tells us that there's something in there going on, which can be an infection or something else."
Often, that is pneumonia.
Right now, Corewell Health is not seeing a vast uptick in pneumonia cases. There is, however, a rise in RSV cases among children.
"But we expected this," said Cumbo-Nacheli, "We're not seeing something that is unexpected."
Here in West Michigan, he says there is no identified new virus. However, he can understand why people are quick to latch onto the idea.
"I am not worried that this is going to be a second wave of something unknown that is going to hit us hard," said Cumbo-Nacheli, "I think that is our anxiety at the global level. Globally, We're all worried about is this going to happen again. My gut feeling, and the CDC, and every report that I read, it's not looking it's going to hit us hard. So, prevention is going to be key to stay safe through winter."
He recommends avoiding gatherings with people who are sick, making sure to wash hands often and avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands.
RELATED VIDEO: West Michigan doctors react to short supply of new RSV shot for infants
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.