DOH: Flu-like illnesses kill 9 from Jan-Feb 3

The Department of Health (DOH) says on Friday, February 16, 2024, that nine people have died from flu-like or influenza-like illnesses since the beginning of 2024. (INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) said Friday that nine people have died due to influenza-like illnesses (ILI) since the beginning of 2024.

It also said that a total of 16,155 ILI cases were recorded from January 1 to February 3.

The DOH, however, marked a downtrend in infection and predicted that ILI cases may plateau by March.

READ: DOH: Consider steps taken during pandemic vs seasonal flu

According to the agency, the 16,155 cases of ILI in the first month of this year is 19 percent lower than the 19,935 cases reported in the same period in 2023.

Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag noted earlier that the reported ILIs are either influenza type A or type B or COVID-19.

Influenza type A and B viruses circulate and cause seasonal epidemics of disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

READ: CoV2 most common cause of flu-like illnesses

The WHO said that type-A flu is further classified into subtypes that have previously caused pandemics, like the swine flu or H1N1, while type B is a type of influenza caused by viruses from the Victoria or Yamagata lineages.

Data from the DOH, however, revealed that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 has been the most common cause of ILIs in the country since 2020.