With cold and flu season heating up, cases of walking pneumonia are increasing across the United States. But is the illness on the rise in Western Pennsylvania as well?

Local health care experts shared mixed thoughts.

What is it?

Walking pneumonia is a mild lung infection that can be caused by bacteria, viruses or mold, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Symptoms include coughing, sneezing, sore throat, headache, mild chills and a low-grade fever.

It's different from pneumonia because walking pneumonia usually doesn't require bed rest or hospitalization.

The worst rates of the illness, which is caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae, are in young children ages 2 to 4, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures.

"Since late spring, the number of infections caused by M. pneumoniae has been increasing, especially among young children," the CDC said in an Oct. 18 statement.

Though anyone can catch walking pneumonia, the Cleveland Clinic said people more likely to get it include those who:

The Pennsylvania Department of Health warned on Oct. 11 that cases were high across the commonwealth. However, not all Western Pennsylvania health systems have seen an increase.

Affecting the region

Dr. Pamela Schoemer, director of quality, safety and outcomes at UPMC Children's Community Pediatrics, said UPMC has "definitely" been seeing walking pneumonia cases -- both in primary care and express care after hours.

"Pneumonia's a scary word to a lot of families because they've had older members of the family have bad outcomes," Schoemer said.

She said she believes it's at the hospital as well, but since it's a minor illness, most cases are taken care of before they reach that point.

This year has "absolutely" had an increase in walking pneumonia cases locally, according to Schoemer. She has seen an increase in the volume of visits to the doctor's office and phone calls to UPMC on the topic.

"We're seeing it across the board, not in one age group more than another," she said. "We see it in school-age and adolescents because they're in school."

However, increases in walking pneumonia are cyclical, Schoemer said, occurring about once or twice a decade.

"Things just happen in cycles. We were all away from each other a little bit during the pandemic, and we actually had lower sick seasons," she said. "Over the last season or two, we are seeing this ... younger kids might not have seen this bacteria before so they are more susceptible to it."

According to the Cleveland Clinic, walking pneumonia is common, and the number of cases fluctuates, with spikes every three to seven years.

At Allegheny Health Network, there also has been an increase in walking pneumonia cases, according to Dr. Michael Petrosky, physician lead at AHN Pediatrics Arcadia.

"I think we've diagnosed a lot more recently," he said. "Maybe every few weeks we would see one. Now, a couple times a week we're seeing it."

People who have walking pneumonia won't always seem "super sick," Petrosky said, as the illness presents differently. However, he said coughing a lot is a main sign.

"We've definitely seen a lot of different viral infections going up," he said, not just walking pneumonia. "Even after covid ... kids are just getting back together more."

A recent nationwide whooping cough surge has infected nearly 2,200 Pennsylvanians, outpacing every other state and putting medical experts on high alert.

On the other hand, Dr. William Jenkins, director of emergency medicine at Independence Health Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, said he and his partners haven't seen an increase in walking pneumonia cases -- but rather, an average amount.

"I think in the emergency department, it's always difficult to determine specific cause on X-ray," he said. "I don't think we're seeing more cases than normal."

Pneumonia overall has been "steady" as well, not just for walking pneumonia, according to Jenkins.

"Late October into flu and respiratory season, we start to see more pneumonia cases," he said. "They're probably very consistent with seasonal spikes."

Jenkins said sometimes numbers are dependent on how many people are actually going to the doctor to get checked out.

"The disease is probably as prevalent in our community as others," he said. "How many people staying home not getting checked, not doing blood tests?"

Preventive measures

If someone has a persistent cough or fever, they should definitely be evaluated by their primary care doctor, Petrosky advised.

Walking pneumonia can sometimes be diagnosed by hearing a person's lungs during an exam, but other times, people need a chest X-ray to diagnose if there are "enough concerning symptoms," he said. Doctors will hear abnormal sounds in lungs, according to Petrosky.

Similar to other illnesses, health care professionals said preventive measures should include hand-washing, trying not to touch your face, avoiding sick people, covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze, using hand sanitizer and making sure immunizations are up to date.

"It's just normal hygiene habits," Jenkins said.

Ideally, people should stay home if they're sick to avoid spreading the illness, he said.

"We still see a lot of people showing up at work sick," Jenkins said. "Stay home so you can avoid affecting our co-workers, friends and families."

Walking pneumonia is transmitted through typical respiratory transmission just like the common cold, he said.

The illness is contagious, according to Petrosky, but not as contagious as the flu, for example. In order for transmission to occur, there has to be "pretty close contact for a decent amount of time," he said.

"The bacteria's out there," he said. "A lot of times, usually there's some trigger -- weather changes, cool air ... lung tissue gets a little irritated."

According to Schoemer, though, not everyone who is exposed to the bacteria will end up getting walking pneumonia, as the illness could settle in their ear or become a sinus infection.

"Pneumonia oftentimes will start as a virus," she said, and symptoms could take a few days to develop.

If you're exposed to walking pneumonia, Schoemer said to talk to your physician to see if you need treatment.

"When you're out and about, listen to how many people are coughing," she said. "There's a lot of people that are showing symptoms."

The coughing related to walking pneumonia doesn't go away quickly, according to Schoemer, sometimes lasting up to six weeks. But that can be a good thing because coughing helps to get rid of the illness.

Petrosky said usually if walking pneumonia is treated within a couple days, people start to feel better. Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines often are used to treat walking pneumonia, he said, but it depends on the age of the patient.

"Sometimes, a cough gets a little bit worse before it gets better," he said. "Usually after a couple days, symptoms start to improve."