Jakarta –
Former Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari recently questioned the Indonesian Ministry of Health’s steps to control dengue hemorrhagic fever (DBD), namely spreading the Aedes aegypti mosquito with Wolbachia bacteria.
He admitted that he objected when people were used as research subjects. It is feared that the effectiveness of applying wolbachia has not been proven.
“This is what creates discomfort in my opinion as a sovereign nation. From a health perspective, dengue fever, in my opinion, has been controlled with programs from the Ministry of Health,” he said at a press conference Monday (13/11/2023).
So far, he said the Ministry of Health has been quite successful in controlling dengue fever. Siti regrets that new research will be conducted in a non-transparent manner.
Indonesian Ministry of Health Opens Voice
The Director General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Dr. Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, confirmed that the Wolbachia technique involved considerations from experts including the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The Ministry of Health really believes in the results of research conducted by UGM friends and there are WHO recommendations,” said Maxi when contacted by detikcom Tuesday (14/11/2023).
Data from initial research is said to be sufficient to show how effective the wolbachia intervention is in suppressing the spread of dengue fever.
The effectiveness of wolbachia has actually been researched since 2011. WMP in Yogyakarta with the Tahija Foundation philanthropy conducted research into the preparation and release of Aedes aegypti with wolbachia on a limited scale for four years until 2015.
The results show that Wolbachia can paralyze the dengue virus in the body of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. As a result, the dengue virus will not be transmitted to the human body.
“If a male Aedes aegypti with wolbachia mates with a female Aedes aegypti, the dengue virus in the female mosquito will be blocked. Apart from that, if the female mosquito with Wolbachia mates with a male mosquito that does not have wolbachia then all of its eggs will contain wolbachia,” said an official statement from the Ministry of Health, quoted Tuesday (14/11).
NEXT: Testing mosquitoes with Wolbachia in Yogyakarta
(naf/up)
2023-11-14 05:35:04
#Siti #Supari #Accuses #Wolbachia #Mosquito #Disrupting #Sovereignty #Ministry #Health #Speaks
