A couple carries a child as they leave a children's hospital in Beijing, on Friday.

In response to the World Health Organisation (WHO), China has reported there were no unknown pathogens among children who have had pneumonia in large numbers in north China. It is being inferred from the data that the increase in cases of pneumonia in children is due to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, and this is the first time in three years that winters are without restrictions, and the regular pathogens like mycoplasma pneumonia are back in circulation.

The Chinese authorities have said that there has been an increased incidence of the fever among children. This is an infection that usually affects children. There was an apprehension that this could be an outbreak on a large scale which could turn into an epidemic like Covid-19 during November-December of 2019. According to Hong Kong University epidemiologist Ben Cowling, “It is just a relatively large seasonal surge, perhaps partly due to chance and partly because there is an ‘immunity debt’ from the lesser winter surges in the last three years.”

WHO has been on the alert because it had faced criticism at the time of the outbreak of Covid-19 that the early cases were not reported and that restrictions were not imposed in time. It is because of this that when it became obvious that there have been a large number of pneumonia cases among children that it sought a report from China, and the data was shared within 24 hours as required by the protocol set up for the purpose. WHO has once again issued an advisory on the basis of the pneumonia cases that included vaccination, keeping distance from the sick persons, confining the sick to homes, ensuring ventilation and washing of hands. Many of these have been recommended by WHO during Covid-19.

China’s National Health Commission disclosed to news agency Xinhua about the measures that parents should take, and also mentioned that the big hospitals are treating a large number of patients and that there are long queues. The Chinese officials have said that there has been an increase in influenza cases as well, since October.

It seems that the world is struggling to get back to a normal cycle of seasonal ailments after the interruption caused by Covid-19, and this process of normalisation will take time. The Chinese officials said that there is a cycle of large outbreak of pneumonia among children which follows a three- or seven-year pattern. The resurgence of seasonal ailments should not send out alarm signals, and it should be seen as a return of normalcy. The seasonal ailments can strengthen the immunity of the people, and there should not be an attempt to destroy the pathogens that cause them. By eliminating the minor and regular pathogens, the body becomes vulnerable to other diseases. Medication is the right response.

There is of course the need to keep an eye on numbers and also the intensity of fevers like pneumonia and influenza because they can prove to be fatal and cause deaths in large numbers. It should be monitored and managed through medication. The doctors and researchers may have to focus on the immunity systems of individuals and communities, so that fevers like influenza and pneumonia do not cause harm on a large scale. While pharmaceutical research is focused on treating every illness, which is an ideal thing to do, it is perhaps better that some of the minor ailments like cold and fever have a function to perform in keeping the body systems alert. Health and illness are important issues but the remedies have to be proportionate. It has been found influenza vaccines are useful but they are always effective. So, there is need for moderation in the approach to seasonal ailments.