Kadinkes DIY asks residents not to panic about Super Flu: It is very different from COVID, Ordinary Influenza

Head of the DIY Health Office Gregorius Anung Trihadi. ANTARA/Luqman Hakim

YOGYAKARTA - The Yogyakarta Special Region Health Office (Dinkes) asked the public not to panic excessively in response to the emergence of a case of super flu in the area.

Head of the DIY Health Office Gregorius Anung Trihadi said that one case of super flu detected in DIY was an old finding in September 2025 and until now it has not shown any increase.

"That was the case in September and from our monitoring of cases, the flu actually went down weekly. There is no need to panic, but you have to be vigilant," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, January 6.

One case in September 2025, he said, occurred in a group of children.

Anung explained that the term super flu refers to the H5N3 influenza virus which clinically has symptoms similar to influenza in general such as fever, runny nose, cough, body pain, and dizziness.

According to him, the virus does not have a high fatality rate and is very different from COVID-19.

"It's a far cry from COVID. I'm saying it's a common influenza virus," he said.

Anung said that monitoring influenza cases in Indonesia, including in DIY, is carried out through a surveillance system involving health service facilities.

For cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) or influenza-like illness with mild symptoms, monitoring is carried out at a number of sentinel health centers, while for cases of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) with more severe symptoms are carried out at referral hospitals.

"For SARI, the sentinel is at Sardjito Hospital. Samples are taken by nasal swab and sent to the National Health Laboratory in Jakarta," he said.

From the results of the SARI sample examination taken in September 2025, he said, the Ministry of Health then conveyed the positive result of influenza H5N3.

However, based on the weekly report of potentially epidemic diseases, the number of influenza cases in DIY has actually shown a downward trend since that period.

"Including in the 51st week which was yesterday, we saw the cases of influenza decreased," he said.

This condition indicates that there is no further chain of transmission, considering that the monitoring period for influenza generally lasts for 14 days.

"If there is no increase in cases and no transmission during the monitoring period, it means that there is no further transmission," he said.

A number of factors that affect the rise and fall of influenza cases, said Anung, include seasonal patterns, community mobility, and body resistance.

Therefore, he appealed to the public to remain vigilant by implementing clean and healthy living behaviors (PHBS) for influenza to prevent transmission.