National security and the menace of the nipah virus, 1998 – 2000: The Malaysian experience
In 1998, Malaysian mainly pig farming community was bombarded with the tragedy of a new infectious disease. The emergence of this new virus in the world has dealt a major blow to Malaysia. The superficiality of understanding the Nipah Virus has disrupted public well-being. Simultaneously, the fr...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2023
|
| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22605/1/Akademika_4.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/22605/ https://ejournal.ukm.my/akademika/issue/view/1593 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | In 1998, Malaysian mainly pig farming community was bombarded with the tragedy of a new infectious disease. The
emergence of this new virus in the world has dealt a major blow to Malaysia. The superficiality of understanding the
Nipah Virus has disrupted public well-being. Simultaneously, the frailty caused by the spread of infectious disease has
changed the perspective of how national security is viewed. Thereby, the national security defence no longer focuses
on the demarcation aspect of the area alone, but also involves every individual living in the supposed area. Thus, this article examines the menace of the Nipah virus outbreak posed on national security between 1998 and 2000. The Nipah
virus was first recognized in Malaysia. The Government as the main actor had no comprehensive plan when faced
with this new disease. While the main requirement needed in overcoming epidemics requires sustainable prevention.
This article uses historical methodology, which emphasizes on qualitative method in the form of descriptive analytics.
Primary and secondary sources was used throughout the process of data accumulation, for instance Guidelines of
Nipah Infection MOH/K/EPI/19.99(GU), parliament hansard, periodicals, books and articles. The findings show the
Nipah outbreak managed to threaten national security, however the capability of the Nipah epidemic to achieve this
threat was not solely dependent on high mortality rates, but on other aspects as well, such as, economic disruption and
public panic. Government preparedness in health infrastructure, through declaring infectious zones, biosecurity steps, disinfections, and public awareness campaigns yielded effective results in controlling the Nipah outbreak. |
|---|