THE government is on alert for “Disease X” in Malaysia, Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said.

He said the response was based on the Covid-19 experience and other infections such as the nipah virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus.

“People shouldn’t be worried because information about any outbreak of disease or virus will be made available to the public,” he said in Setia Alam today.

Disease X is a placeholder name that was adopted by the World Health Organization to represent a hypothetical, unknown pathogen that could cause a future epidemic.

On the Wellness Month campaign, which is held every September, Lukanisman said it was one of the ministry’s efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle among Malaysians.

He said the programme was also held to strengthen cooperation among key partners in the private sector. – Bernama, September 30, 2023.