Happy New Year statuses on Facebook have been accompanied by a healthy dose of sick-man emojis, as many were struck with flu-like symptoms.

Some even posted photos of cough medicine and pills alongside tinsel-clad Christmas trees to drive home the point.

But despite a surge of respiratory-tract infections, doctors insist the bout of sickness across all age groups is not as alarming as it sounds.

It has been busier for doctors and pharmacists over the holiday season this year compared to the previous one, with the colder weather partly to blame. But what ordinary people have called influenza might not necessarily be so, cautioned Martin Balzan, a respiratory physician.

Contrary to a common cold, influenza has more severe symptoms and is often diagnosed by the public health authorities through laboratory tests.

“From what I gathered from my colleagues, there has been a surge of upper and lower respiratory-tract infections, and this has created a load on the hospital, health centres and GPs,” Dr Balzan said yesterday.

A secondary surge inailments could be expected within the next two weeks after schools re-open on Monday

However, the added pressure could also be a result of the sickness trend peaking at a time when many health practitioners, like other workers, are on leave.

“This year, there seemed to be an early peak, which coincided with the Christmas holiday period, and this puts the medical infrastructure under a lot of stress,” he said.

He added that a secondary surge in ailments could be expected in the next two weeks, once schools re-open on Monday.

Peter Attard, a general practitioner, said the vast majority of ailments he saw were common colds and respiratory-tract infections. “I would not say this was an above-average year. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but the peak did coincide with the holidays,” Dr Attard said.

Jean Pierre Farrugia, a general practitioner in the Valletta and Floriana areas, said that the colder weather this year might have contributed to the earlier peak.

However, he also reported that the situation was not alarming.

“I have seen upper-respiratory-tract infections, a lot of common colds and some flu without additional complications,” Dr Farrugia said. The flu vaccine – distributed for free in November to the elderly, children and those with chronic diseases – worked for those who took it, he added.

“Unfortunately, this year, like the previous one, the uptake of the influenza vaccine in the area I cover was low. Bar the regulars who take it year in, year out, few others bothered to take the jab,” Dr Farrugia noted.