After the Zika virus recently arrived in Jamaica, the government turned to an unlikely weapon: reggae and air horns.
The horns come out in a new music video, “We nuh want ZIKV,” sung by obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Michael Abrahams and sponsored by the country’s Ministry of Health. The song encourages Jamaicans to get rid of stagnant water, use bug spray, and “go hard” against virus-spreading mosquitoes. The country is employing the song as a public service announcement on radio, television, and in movie theaters, according to Global Post.
Jamaica confirmed its first case of Zika at the end of January. Even before that report, Abrahams was warning of the danger the virus posed. In a Jan. 4 editorial for newspaper The Gleaner, Abrahams wrote: “Many of us utilize social media to air grouses, complain and criticize, often with good reason. In this case, I invite my fellow Jamaicans to join me and use it to protect ourselves.”
