Jakarta –
The Indonesian Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) is currently preparing wolbachia-bearing mosquito technology as a new way to overcome the problem of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in Indonesia. According to research conducted, the Aedes aegypti mosquito that has been infected with the Wolbachia bacteria can reduce cases and severity of dengue fever.
This wolbachia technology is said to be able to reduce 77.1 percent of dengue cases and hospitalization rates by up to 82.6 percent. The Director of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases at the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Dr. Imran Pambudi, explained that this innovation would not be a replacement for existing efforts.
“The WHO Vector Control Advisory Group has recommended wolbachia as a form of treating dengue fever. So, it is not meant to replace existing efforts,” said Dr Imran when met by detikcom, Tuesday (19/12/2023).
Dr Imran revealed that efforts to treat dengue fever using fogging can still go hand in hand with the wolbachia method. However, later the fogging method will only be used in special conditions. For example, in an area that has entered outbreak status for dengue hemorrhagic fever.
“Fogging is only done if an outbreak has occurred. If the wolbachia that is already there ends up dying, that’s okay, because that is a condition that requires elimination. There are already indications,” he explained.
Furthermore, he also revealed that the Wolbachia method is not necessarily suitable in all places. Dr Imran said that this innovation is only suitable for densely populated areas. This needs to be considered to maintain the effectiveness of the wolbachia method.
“Not all areas are suitable for applying Wolbachia technology. The ones that are suitable are only in areas that are densely populated. If it is rare, it is not suitable because the Aedes aegypti mosquito tends to be ‘lazy’, they fly a maximum of a hundred meters, they don’t want to fly far,” explained Dr. Imran.
According to Imran, if population density is low and the distance between houses is too far, there is little chance of mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia to meet other mosquitoes and reproduce. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is generally very adaptable and needs humans. Therefore, the higher the population density, the greater the mosquito population.
Watch the video “Ministry of Health says about the safety of the dengue fever control program via Wolbachia”
(avk/vyp)
2023-12-19 23:00:00
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