DOH assures: No outbreak, epidemic of influenza-like illnesses in Metro Manila

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday said there is currently no outbreak or epidemic of influenza-like illnesses in (ILIs) in the National Capital Region.

In a public hearing, DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said the current number of ILI cases in the country are in line with anticipated increases during the flu season.

Herbosa said current ILI cases are at 133,000 and have yet to breach the 2024 figure of 135,000.

“Yung ILI, maraming cause yan. Hindi yan isang virus… During this time, the Ber months, this is our flu season, it’s our ILIs. Talagang dumadami yan, and we have thousands of cases reported,” he said.

(ILI has a lot of causes. It’s not just one virus… During this time, the Ber months, this is our flu season, it’s our ILIs. There really is an increase, and we have thousands of cases reported.)

“But ang epidemiology kasi may science when to declare [if] it’s an outbreak or an epidemic na [at] mayroon ka dapat mabreach. Mayroong normal seasonal rise tayo, [and] we haven’t even reached the numbers of last year,” Herbosa added.

(But the epidemiology has a science of when to declare [if] it’s an outbreak or an epidemic [and] there’s something you have to breach. We have a normal seasonal rise, [and] we haven’t even reached the numbers of last year.)

He also explained that unlike COVID-19 that only had one virus causing medical issues, ILIs are a mix of different types of illnesses that presented the same symptoms of runny nose, coughs, sore throat, fever, or body pains.

As a result, Herbosa said the current seasonal increase does not call for a declaration of an outbreak.

“Pag maraming kids na nagkasakit sa school nila, yung teacher yun ano na, ‘Uy, madaming school na nagkasakit.’ They see it as alarming. Sa amin, may science in it,” he said.

(If there are a lot of kids that get sick in their school, the teachers would go ‘Hey, a lot of schools are getting sick.’ They see it as alarming. For us, there’s a science in it.)

Herbosa went on: “It cannot be based on anecdotal reports [that there is an] outbreak or something. It’s not an outbreak. It’s a seasonal flu, there’s a curve of all seasons, and the precautions are all the same.”

While class suspensions may help curb the further spread of ILIs, Herbosa said the Department of Education’s bigger reason for the declarations had more to do with the recent back-to-back earthquakes.

“They wanted to also check the buildings, and when they check the school buildings they also sanitize, kasi totoo naman na maraming bata na nasa schools na nag-aabsent…  Itong pagsuspend ng klase, makakatulong yan, but I wish na nagcoordinate lang sila kasi siyempre, pag nagdeclare ka kasi ng no classes because of flu-like symptoms kami ang tatanungin, and then we are caught unaware, and we will cause an alarm,” Herbosa said.

(They wanted to also check the buildings, and when they check the school buildings they also sanitize, because it is true that there are a lot of kids in schools that go absent… These suspension of classes can help, but I wish that they coordinated with us because of course, if they declare that there are no classes because of flu-like symptoms, we would be asked about it, and then we are caught unaware, and we will cause an alarm.)

The DOH Secretary then advised the public to stay alert and to always observe common prevention tactics and principles to avoid getting sick.

“The public health advice is still wash your hands. If you’re sick, stay at home and do not spread it all over. At home, i-isolate yung may sakit… (At home, isolate the sick…) It’s the same as COVID. Wearing a mask would help, isolating the sick in one room would help, not sharing your food would help kasi that’s how the virus spreads,” Herbosa said.

“Same principles as COVID, we learned this na. Walang panic. Number one, walang outbreak ng sakit, no single virus. Madaming causes yan… Talagang panahon lang talaga pagdating ng tag-ulan, talagang panahon ng flu-like symptoms. Influenza spreads very fast,” he added.

(Same principles as COVID, we learned this already. There’s no panic. Number one, there is no outbreak of illnesses, no single virus. There are a lot of causes… It really is just the season for it. When the rainy season arrives, it’s the time for flu-like symptoms. Influenza spreads very fast.) — JMA, GMA Integrated News