Alarming footage has emerged of mask-wearing crowds inside Chinese hospitals as fears of a new pandemic sweep across the globe.

Areas in the north of the country such as Beijing and Liaoning have been hit the hardest, with reports emerging last week that hospitals are being overwhelmed with sick children.

A common bacterial infection called mycoplasma pneumoniae has circulated since May but is now showing ground glass opacity in lung scans - an indicator of severe respiratory illness.