The West Java Health Service (Dinkes) revealed that the Wolbachia mosquito program to stop the spread of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DBD) will only be effective if the mosquito population is above 60 percent in one area.
According to the Head of the West Java Health Office, Vini Adiani Dewi, the Wolbachia mosquito breeding program to weaken the causes of dengue fever tested in Ujungberung, Bandung City, has only reached 16 percent of the mosquito population there, so it still takes time for this program to have an impact in reducing cases and deaths. dengue fever.
“For Ujungberung, it’s only September. The percentage is only 16 percent. It will be effective if it is above 60 percent (of mosquitoes with) Wolbachia. The soonest will be one year from now,” said Vini in a short message in Bandung, Saturday.
An example of an effective Wolbachia mosquito program, said Vini, is the one carried out in Yogyakarta, where there has been a reduction in the death rate of up to 70 percent.
However, Vini said that in West Java it would take quite a long time, because of the limited production places for mosquitoes with Wolbachia.
“So why 16 percent, because the number of mosquito seeds is still small because the production sites are only in Yogyakarta and Surabaya,” he said.
The distribution of mosquitoes with Wolbachia in West Java, which has just been carried out in Ujungberung District, has just been implemented in Pasanggrahan Village, which is planned to be continued throughout Bandung City and West Java.
“Actually, in Ujungberung there are five sub-districts, but not all of them have implemented Wolbachia, we are still waiting for the Ministry of Health’s direction. This program is a pilot project from the Ministry of Health. Hopefully in the future all districts/cities in West Java province can implement this program,” he said.
However, Vini emphasized that this program is a tool and not the main thing, because the most important thing is to keep the environment clean so that it does not become a breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
“Wolbachia is once again not the main thing. The most important thing is the 3M plus movement. When we carry out the 3M Pkus movement, it is not only the Aedes Aegypti mosquito but also cleaning the environment,” he said.
The city of Bandung is one of the cities designated by the Ministry of Health as one of the focuses for the spread of the Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying Wolbachia in November 2023. Not only Bandung, four other cities in Indonesia are also the locus, namely West Jakarta, Semarang, Bontang and Kupang.
Based on data from the West Java Health Service, the number of cases in Bandung City in January 2024 was 153 cases with one fatality.
The program to spread the Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying Wolbachia in Bandung is currently only being carried out in the Pasanggrahan Village, Ujungberung District.
Currently, there are 308 buckets spread across 15 RWs. First released in 1 sub-district on October 31 2023, and serviced every 2 weeks to replace mosquito eggs, food and new water in each bucket distributed in residents’ homes.
Trained cadre supervisors are assisted by cadres in each RT who carry out the service to replace the contents of the Wolbachia mosquito bucket. Currently the 6th service has been carried out which will be carried out on January 23 2024.
The spreading process will be carried out until there is a minimum of 60 percent Wolbachia mosquitoes in nature, after which the bucket placement will be stopped.
Editor: Zaenal A.
2024-03-09 15:40:00
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