KATANTT.COM–The Indonesian Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin paid a working visit to Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara Province.
Budi Gunadi’s work visit was not to distribute free medicines to the people of Kupang City, but the Minister of Health distributed dengue hemorrhagic fever (DBD) mosquito seeds.
The distribution of mosquito seeds is an implementation of a program by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. This method is believed to be able to reduce the number of dengue infections.
Wolbachia Coordinator, Jane Pandie, explained that the mosquito seeds distributed to the public for cultivation were the Aedes Aegypti type which had been injected with Wolbachia bacteria.
The goal is that adult mosquitoes that already contain Wolbachia bacteria can inactivate the Dengue Virus in local Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes when mating occurs.
According to Jane Pandie, mosquitoes containing Wolbachia bacteria are not dangerous to humans. If you get a sting, humans will only feel itchy on the surface of the skin.
“The goal is for Katong (us) to distribute Wolbachia mosquito eggs so that they can naturally replace the Aides mosquito population that already exists in Kupang City,” he said.
“By changing them through hereditary inheritance, namely mating. The goal is that the adult katong kasi dong (they) are then released to be able to mate with the local mosquitoes in the katong pu house,” added Jane Pandie.
He explained that if mating occurs, the Aedes Aegypti mosquito will automatically deliver the Wolbachia bacteria that are already in the Aedes mosquito, replacing the Dengue Virus in the body. “So the virus is there but it means it can develop,” said Jane Pandie.
According to the Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Aedes Aegypti mosquito egg seeds were only distributed in Kupang City as a pilot project, as well as in big cities in Indonesia.
“Well, usually the areas where dengue fever occurs are in urban areas, not rural areas. So this Wolbachia program is for big cities, not rural areas where there are different types of mosquitoes and different diseases,” he said.
Each resident will be distributed a bucket containing 200 to 250 Wolbachia mosquito eggs, with a distance or radius of each bucket of around 75 meters. It is hoped that the distribution of Aedes Aegypti can prevent and reduce the number of dengue fever sufferers that occur every month
2023-10-24 23:41:00
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