Director of the UGM Center for Tropical Medicine, Riris Andono Ahmad, places his hand on a box containing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that have been infected with Wolbachia bacteria, at the UGM Central Building, Yogyakarta, Wednesday (22/11/2023).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Innovations to suppress the spread of dengue hemorrhagic fever or DHF using mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria in West Jakarta are still being socialized to residents. The DKI Jakarta Health Service guarantees that the Wolbachia mosquito bites that are being tested are safe for humans and environmentally friendly.
Epidemiology and Immunization Surveillance for the DKI Jakarta Health Service, Ngabila Salama, Monday (27/11/2023), said that the plan to spread the Wolbachia mosquito in West Jakarta was carried out because of the high number of dengue fever cases in the area.
The number of dengue fever cases in West Jakarta during January-August 2023 fluctuated, but tended to decrease. In January there were 132 cases, February 94 cases, March 105 cases, April 125 cases, May 95 cases, June 80 cases, July 66 cases, and August 39 cases.
Also read: “Wolbachia” technology is not the result of genetic engineering
The most dengue fever cases were found in Cengkareng District, namely 238 cases. Next in Kembangan District, there were 135 cases recorded and Kalideres 112 cases. Then in Kebon Jeruk there were 81 cases, Tambora 76 cases, Palmerah 51 cases, Grogol Petamburan 45 cases, and Taman Sari 33 cases.
The spread of mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria is in accordance with the Decree of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number 1341 concerning the Implementation of Wolbachia Pilot Project as a Dengue Management Innovation.
KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO (DRA)
Officers carry buckets containing Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs with Wolbachia bacteria at the launch of the plan to expand the benefits of mosquitoes with Wolbachia bacteria in Yogyakarta City at the Rejowinangun Village Office, Kotagede, Yogyakarta, Wednesday (2/9/2020).
For starters, the Wolbachia mosquito will be distributed in five cities in Indonesia. Apart from West Jakarta (DKI Jakarta), distribution was also carried out in Bandung (West Java), Semarang (Central Java), Bontang (East Kalimantan), and Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara). The distribution of Wolbachia mosquito larvae was carried out at 47,251 points in Semarang City, 20,513 points in Bandung City, 18,761 points in West Jakarta City, 9,751 points in Kupang City, and 4,917 points in Bontang City.
Ngabila said that the implementation of the spread of the Wolbachia mosquito in Indonesia previously succeeded in suppressing dengue cases in Yogyakarta in 2014. This success was one of the reasons why the spread of the Wolbachia mosquito was carried out again to suppress dengue cases, including in DKI Jakarta.
“Implementation in West Jakarta is still in the process of outreach to residents together with RT heads, RW heads and community leaders so that this implementation can run,” said Ngabila.
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One of the innovations carried out by the government to reduce dengue transmission is by implementing mosquito technology carrying Wolbachia bacteria. This technology utilizes the natural Wolbachia bacteria which are found in 60 percent of insects.
The bacteria are then inserted into the Aedes aegypti mosquito, until it hatches and produces the Wolbachia-bearing Aedes aegypti mosquito. In this way, the Aedes aegypti population slowly decreases and is replaced by the Wolbachia-bearing Aedes aegypti mosquito.
When biting, the Aedes aegypti mosquito containing Wolbachia will not transmit the dengue fever virus to humans. This is because the development of the dengue virus has been successfully inhibited by the Wolbachia bacteria.
Ngabila said that the technology for spreading Wolbachia mosquitoes can paralyze the dengue virus in the body of the Aedes aegypti mosquito so that the dengue virus will not be transmitted to the human body. Ngabila emphasized that humans are not guinea pigs in this program, and there is no genetic engineering of mosquitoes.
“Mosquitoes that carry Wolbachia bacteria will continue to reproduce and will not carry the dengue fever virus so that future dengue fever cases will be reduced to zero by 2030 according to the target set by WHO,” he continued.
Bacteria safe
The main researcher on Wolbachia mosquito research who is also a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, Adi Utarini, added that the Wolbachia bacteria in the mosquito’s body are no different from the bacteria in the fly’s original host. fruit. Wolbachia technology has been proven safe for humans, animals and the environment.
Mosquitoes that carry Wolbachia bacteria will continue to reproduce and will not carry the dengue fever virus so that future dengue fever cases will be reduced to zero by 2030 according to the target set by WHO.
“Wolbachia is not genetically engineered. This bacteria is present in more than 50 percent of the insects around us. “So, Wolbachia is a natural bacteria which, when introduced into Aedes (aegypti) mosquito eggs, will experience a mechanism that inhibits the development of the dengue virus,” he said.
Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono previously also asked the Health Service to provide an explanation about mosquitoes to the public, especially residents of West Jakarta. This needs to be done so that the public does not misunderstand.
2023-11-27 11:24:15
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