Baguio City hit its coldest temperature this year at 11 degrees Celsius as Quezon City’s Science Garden weather station recorded 19 degrees on the morning of Thursday, January 22. But before you call your significant other over for cuddle weather, you may want to see if they’re showing flu symptoms.
In the Philippines, flu season typically begins during the wet season or habagat, beginning in June, when the humid and rainy climate brings people indoors, as crowded and insulated places are conducive for the spread of viruses. However, the flu season could also extend to amihan, typically from October to the early months of the following year, as the virus thrives in cold and dry climates.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante tells ABS-CBN News that flu-like illnesses, typically characterized by cough, colds, fever, body aches, and fatigue, may persist among Filipinos in the next few weeks and extend the flu season to February due to the recent spread of the “super flu.”
While the super flu’s symptoms aren’t remarkably different from the common flu, the influenza A virus subtype H3N2 is called such due to its ability to cause infections, according to Solante. In 2025, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 63 cases of the super flu, all of which have recovered.
In a press conference on January 7, DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said that the new flu virus variant is not cause for alarm, but encouraged vaccinations and caution when traveling to North America and the UK. Today reports that in the US, H3N2 drives 90 percent of flu cases.
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