THE Department of Health (DOH) assured that the Philippines is ready in the event that a Nipah virus case is recorded in the country.
The statement came after new cases were recorded in India, were five confirmed cases were recorded in West Bengal and 100 close contacts were identified and are now being monitored.
DOH spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said that although rare, Nipah virus is no longer new in the country, citing that in 2014, a total of 17 cases were recorded in Sultan Kudarat, the cause of which was identified as eating horse meat and contact with infected persons. Symptoms include fever, encephalitis or swelling of the brain and meningitis.
After that, no more cases of Nipah virus were recorded in the Philippines but the DOH continued monitoring through its Epidemiology Bureau.
“Handa ang ating DOH para sa Nipah virus at iba pang sakit. Sa katunayan, hindi na bago itong Nipah virus sa atin. Nakita na ito noong 2014 pa sa Sultan Kudarat, kung saan nagkaroon ng 17 na kaso. Ang mga naging sintomas ay trangkaso, pero may nagkaroon rin ng pamamaga ng utak o encephalitis at meningitis. Nakuha ito ng mga nagkasakit mula sa pagkain ng karne ng kabayo at paglapit sa taong may sakit,”Domingo said.
“Pagkatapos po noong 2014 ay hindi na nakita ang Nipah virus, at patuloy na nakabantay ang DOH sa pamamagitan ng Epidemiology Bureau. Noong 2023 lang rin, sa pamumuno ni Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, ay naglabas ng updated guidelines sa pagtugon sa Nipah virus,” he added.
Domingo also explained: “Ang Nipah virus ay sanhi ng isang zoonotic disease, na ibig sabihin ay nagmumula sa hayop. Karaniwang mga paniki ang pinanggagalingan nito, ngunit maaari ring mahawa ang mga hayop tulad ng baboy at kabayo. Bihira lamang po ito.”
He said that first case of Nipah virus was discovered in Malaysia in 1998. It reached Singapore in 1999 and both cases were contained. Currently, there were seasonal outbreaks reported in Bangladesh and India.
“Alam natin ito dahil kasama tayo sa global IHR network ng World Health Organization o WHO. Makakaiwas po tayo sa Nipah virus sa pamamagitan ng pag-iwas sa mga paniki o iba pang hayop na may sakit. Pinamamainam na kumain ng karne na aprubado ng ating National Meat Inspection Service o NMIS at palaging lutuin nang maigi ang pagkain,” the DOH said.
