CNN Indonesia
Thursday, 23 Nov 2023 09:51 WIB
UGM Center for Tropical Medicine researcher Adi Utarini talks about his Wolbachia study journey in Indonesia. (doc. stump)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Researcher at the UGM Center for Tropical Medicine Adi Utarini reveal the use of mosquitoes Wolbachia as one of the solutions to eradicate Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) not just yesterday afternoon.
The long process, starting from testing mosquito traps in the homes of Yogyakarta residents to getting recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), has been going on for years.
Adi Utarini, who is familiarly called Uut, admitted that he was not involved from the start in the program which started in 2011. Uut himself only joined Wolbachia mosquito research in 2013.
In Indonesia, specifically in Yogyakarta, this research collaborates with Monash University, Australia and the Tahija Foundation.
Uut said that research on the Wolbachia bacteria began decades ago. This bacteria was even discovered almost 100 years ago, in 1924 to be precise.
However, it was only in the 2000s that this bacteria was discovered to be able to prevent the transmission of disease viruses from the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Starting in Australia, Indonesia is one of the countries that is also researching Wolbachia mosquitoes in order to reduce the spread of diseases caused by these mosquitoes.
For information, apart from dengue fever, the Aedes aegypti mosquito is also a source of spread of the yellow fever virus, chikungunya virus and Zika virus.
Like research in general, the initial period of Wolbachia mosquito research was spent in the laboratory. However, researchers also help educate the public by involving them in the research process.
The researchers collected samples of Yogyakarta mosquitoes by keeping traps in residents’ homes while educating the public about what they were doing to eradicate dengue fever.
According to him, this kind of approach is important so that people can accept this new mosquito eradication method.
The reason is, his party will release mosquitoes in the community which will contradict the mosquito eradication campaign that the public knows about.
Acceptance takes time
The researchers also educate the public regarding dengue fever so that they understand what must be done to deal with the spread of the disease.
“What we are fighting with Wolbachia is the virus, not just mosquitoes. If they understand it is the virus, then they can accept us releasing mosquitoes because these mosquitoes already have Wolbachia which will play a role in inhibiting the dengue virus,” said Uut to CNNIndonesia.com via telephone, Tuesday (21/11).
“So far, the program has been to kill mosquitoes or reduce mosquito nests. But people know that this is difficult to do in tropical countries. So they understand that the mosquitoes released are “safe mosquitoes,” he added.
According to Uut, this public acceptance through education and slow socialization is one of the big leaps that researchers have gained during the research process.
In this way, they were able to release Wolbachia mosquitoes in 2014 in two hamlets in Sleman and two hamlets in Bantul.
Apart from the community, support from stakeholders is also important in research.
“This release can occur when the community is ready, educated and trusts those who are doing it. Then the stakeholders will also support it,” said Uut.
The research and analysis process lasted for two years while outreach and education were also carried out for a larger mission, namely releasing Wolbachia mosquitoes in a wider area.
After living for two years in Bantul and Sleman, the Wolbachia mosquito will begin its work in a wider area.
In 2016, the Wolbachia mosquito worked to eradicate the spread of dengue fever in a wider area.
Uut is very grateful that this large-scale research process can run smoothly, again thanks to the good reception by the community. Even though there are areas that receive Wolbachia mosquitoes and there are areas that receive Wolbachia mosquitoes.
According to him, openness to the public is important because it is impossible for researchers to release mosquitoes involving the public secretly.
As a result, the openness and education carried out by the researchers made people understand, according to Uut, some of them even felt proud to be involved in research.
“This is still research, the public must know. And they are proud to be part of the research,” he said.
“So that when it is released on a wide scale, people can accept that there are those who get Wolbachia technology, there are those who at that time are still being compared. That’s what they understand,” he added.
Analysis and evaluation of the Wolbachia Application for Dengue Elimination (AWED) in Yogyakarta will last for 4 years until 2020.
Infographics So Mosquitoes Hate Your House. (Photo: CNN Indonesia/Laudy Gracivia)
As a result, the Aedes aegypti mosquito containing Wolbachia was able to reduce dengue cases by 77.1 percent and reduce hospitalizations due to dengue by 86 percent.
This study and the results of applications in several other countries that apply World Mosquito Program (WMP) technology have yielded sweet results. In 2021, Wolbachia technology for Dengue control was recommended by the WHO Vector Control Advisory Group.
In Indonesia itself, the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Health will apply this technology in a number of cities.
To begin with, the Wolbachia mosquito will be distributed in five cities, namely West Jakarta (DKI Jakarta), Bandung (West Java), Semarang (Central Java), Bontang (East Kalimantan), and Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara).
(lom/arh)
2023-11-23 02:51:24
#Story #Long #Process #Wolbachia #Mosquito #Study #Concrete #Results
