This infectious respiratory illness is on the rise, especially among children. Here's what parents need to know.

Bacterial infections from Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which can cause walking pneumonia, have surged since late spring, according to the CDC. The spike has been highest in children ages 2-4. Cases of "walking pneumonia" — a milder form of the lung infection pneumonia — have spiked in the United States, particularly among young children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that cases of "walking pneumonia" have been rising sharply in the United States, especially among young children. ATLANTA — Cases of “walking pneumonia” have been rising sharply in the United States since the spring,

According to the CDC, respiratory infections caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae have increased in the U.S. over the past six months, particularly among young children. In previous years, most pneumonia or acute bronchitis infections caused by the bacteria were found in school-aged children and teens.

Walking pneumonia cases are surging among young children in the United States, federal health officials warn.

Dr. Johnna Wilson, a pediatric critical care doctor with Deaconess Hospital, said mycoplasma pneumonia cases increase every three to five years.

The CDC said that cases of respiratory infections caused by the bacteria mycoplasma pneumoniae are on the rise across the U.S., particularly among young children. It's a trend doctors are also seeing in the Mid-South.

The worst rates of the infection known as "walking pneumonia" or "white lung pneumonia" are in young children ages 2 to 4 years old.

Infections with the illness known as walking pneumonia have been surging across the United States at unusually high levels in young kids, according to emergency room data from many states. Doctors say most of those affected by the infection,