Information that has spread recently, but has not been confirmed, regarding efforts to overcome dengue, has caused anxiety for some people. The trigger was the steps taken by the government to suppress the spread of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) in Indonesia, by spreading the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that have contained Wolbachia bacteria nationally.
Controversy has emerged in society, and there has even been rejection in several places. This rejection occurs for various reasons, including being considered part of a research project, making mosquitoes more vicious, and can cause other diseases, such as inflammation of the brain. Responding to the circulating information, Professor of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) Universitas Indonesia (UI) Prof. Anom Bowolaksono, Ph.D., explained that Wolbachia bacteria does not infect humans and are natural bacteria found in the bodies of insects, including mosquitoes. Apart from that, several countries such as Australia and Singapore have also implemented this innovation and have been proven effective in reducing the rate of dengue fever cases.
“The problem for humans is how to reduce the number of dengue fever sufferers. Until now, there is still no cure for dengue fever, hence why one alternative is to break the vector chain by suppressing the population of mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus. For an outbreak or disease to occur, it must be seen from the number of vectors and the number of sufferers. If the number of vectors decreases, the disease will not be transmitted as well and will lead to a decrease in the spread rate,” said Prof. Anom.
Furthermore, Prof. Anom said that research shows that Wolbachia bacteria are able to reduce the capacity of mosquitoes by targeting reproductive tissue. If the Wolbachia bacteria is in a male animal, it will make the male mosquito more feminine and unable to produce spermatozoa. Likewise in female animals, Wolbachia will attack reproductive tissue and cause female mosquitoes to be unable to lay eggs. Later, mosquitoes become immature and unable to transmit the dengue virus to humans who are bitten.
Meanwhile, Prof. Anom also explained that mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria have nothing to do with inflammation of the brain or Japanese encephalitis, as has recently become a topic of much discussion on social media. He said, “Japanese encephalitis is spread by mosquitoes. However, the mosquito that spreads it or is the vector is the Culex mosquito. Meanwhile, what is infected with the Wolbachia bacteria in our country is the Aedes aegypti mosquito.”
This has also been confirmed by the Director General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenkes RI) Maxi Rein Rondonuwu that the spread of the Wolbachia mosquito is guaranteed to be safe. This innovation has also gone through risk studies and analysis involving top researchers in Indonesia. He also said that implementation still requires regular monitoring and evaluation. Therefore you can continue to monitor and be aware of the progress of the spread of the Wolbachia mosquito.
In the DPR RI Commission IX Work Meeting, the Indonesian Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that there were five cities planned by the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) to spread the Wolbachia mosquito, namely West Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Bontang and Kupang. This area was targeted for trials based on the relatively high rate of dengue cases, which is above the global average of 10 per 100,000 population.
Author: Maudisha AR
