We conducted the first epidemiological study of influenza in Lebanon, a temperate country in the Middle East. Between January to May 2008, 39 patients with influenza-like illness were tested. Of these, 51% contracted influenza in January alone, while no influenza cases were detected in May. Among the 39 patients, 11 influenza A and 4 influenza B cases were detected by rapid kit in addition to 10 respiratory syncytial virus cases by real-time PCR. The influenza viruses were genetically divergent from the 2007/2008 season's vaccine strains, but resembled strains circulating in other countries during the same season.