Flu or influenza-like illnesses (ILI) shot up 45 percent this year compared to the same period last year, the Department of Health said Tuesday.
The DOH said the country recorded 114,278 cases of flu (trangkaso in Filipino) since the start of the year, with 32,778 or 29 percent of ILI cases suffered by those aged 1 to 4.
Last year, the country reported 78,550 flu cases from January 1 to December 3, the Health Department said.
Based on the latest DOH surveillance report, 446 ILI-related deaths were recorded this year, or a case fatality rate of 0.4 percent—lower than in 2021, when some 955 deaths were logged for a CFR of 1.2 percent.
This year, Davao Region has the greatest number of flu cases at 23,177, followed by Northern Mindanao (17,283), Central Visayas (12,151), and Calabarzon (10,922).
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire warned Filipinos not to be complacent when it comes to flu.
“We are reminding our countrymen that the symptoms of flu are almost the same as COVID-19,” she said in a press briefing, citing fever, cough, headaches, fatigue, and runny nose.
If down with flu-like symptoms, Vergeire said Pinoys should call their nearest local health facility to test and differentiate it from COVID-19.
She stressed that it is better to be safe as the symptoms are “almost the same” as the coronavirus illness.
“So, we can’t be complacent that it is only the flu. So, we can be sure that the sickness will not spread, let us isolate once we feel these kinds of symptoms,” she said during a media briefing.
The DOH has recommended an extension of the state of calamity in the Philippines due to COVID-19.
At present, the country has recorded a total of 4,062,191 COVID-19 cases, including 15,472 active infections.