Government urged to conduct info drive on Nipah virus

Transcript

00:00 Former Health Secretary and now House Deputy Minority Leader Janet Garren called for the

00:04 Department of Health and Department of Agriculture to join hands to aggressively surveil the

00:09 workings of the Nipah virus and then inform the public how to properly steer clear from

00:13 infection or exposure to the fruit bat-derived disease.

00:17 She said awareness is key to keeping the public protected from an outbreak given how the nation

00:22 has just come out of three and a half years of dealing with a deadly pandemic.

00:27 Garren stressed the information or awareness campaign should provide reliable information

00:31 to the public without coming across as an alarmist.

00:35 The Nipah virus or NIV is commonly transmitted from animals to humans such as in fruit bats

00:41 or flying foxes to humans or from one animal to another then to humans like in 2014 when

00:47 horses were infected because of what they were fed that contained bat urine.

00:52 Garren also urged the public to wash fruits and vegetables, properly cook meats and fishes,

00:57 regularly hand wash and to immediately visit or consult a doctor if symptoms of severe

01:02 headaches and high fever persist.