Udayana University Holds Wolbachia Method Implementation Initiative Seminar in Bali

Udayana University (Unud) held a Seminar on the Implementation Initiative of the Wolbachia Method in Bali in Controlling Dengue Fever at the Hall of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Unud Denpasar Campus, Thursday (30/11/23). The seminar was officially opened by the Rector, who on this occasion was represented by the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Prof. Dr. Ir. I Gede Rai Maya Temaja, M.P., IPU, and attended by lecturers, Unud students, the Bali Health Service, as well as representatives of state and private universities in Bali.

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) is still not under control in Bali. The incidence rate is recorded between 200-500 cases every year. There can be much more unrecorded or unreported data. The percentage who die is 5% to 30%, or between 10-150 people every year. Now, there is an innovation in mosquito eggs that carry Wolbachia bacteria that can reduce morbidity and mortality as well as medical expenses and loss of labor during illness. This new innovation has been proven to be effective and safe and Wolbachia is also not the result of genetic engineering.

To provide academic studies for the sake of public peace, the Rector of Udayana University took the initiative to form a Working Group (Pokja) of Experts on Mosquito Innovation Studies which carries the Wolbachia bacteria. The working group has diverse expertise from microbiology, virology, entomology, public health, and biology.

"Unud must play an important role in this technology study, Udayana University feels called to take a role in controlling dengue fever which requires very high costs, that's why we will discuss it here," said Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Prof. Rai Maya Temaja.

Wolbachia is used in vector control, especially mosquitoes which spread diseases such as dengue fever by: (1) Cytoplasmic Incompatibility (CI) so that mosquito embryos die; (2) Feminization and Parthenogenesis which can increase the number of females in the population, increasing the potential for Wolbachia transmission; (3) Concurrency Strains that are superior in manipulating host reproduction or have a positive impact on host survival can dominate in a population and the Pathogen Suppression Mechanism is to inhibit virus replication. So as not to be unsettling, information about this technology must be explained. Wolbachia is a natural bacteria that has been found in Indonesia and may also be present in mosquitoes in Bali. This bacteria lives in various species of mosquitoes and insects which are "Obligate Endosymbionts", only live in the mosquito's body, and can only move from mother mosquito to offspring through eggs, transfer between mosquitoes is impossible.

Meanwhile, Chair of the Udayana University Task Force for the Study of Wolbachia-bearing Mosquito Innovations as an effort to control dengue fever in Bali, Prof. Dr. Pande Putu Januraga, M.Kes, Dr.PH. conveyed that Udayana University as one of the oldest and largest universities in the province of Bali needs to play a role in providing an academic perspective on the initiation of implementing the wolbachia method as an effort to control dengue fever in Bali. For this reason, it is necessary to conduct a discussion about the situation of dengue hemorrhagic fever in Bali, a critical review of the implementation of the Wolbachia method in controlling dengue in Bali and study the implementation of this method in the context of Jogja and in the 14 countries that have implemented this method. It is hoped that this discussion will provide a critical academic view of the implementation of the Wolbachia method in Bali.

In the dengue control program in Bali, Wolbachia technology for dengue control uses Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that have been infected with Wolbachia bacteria, then their eggs are placed in people's homes so they can mate with Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes in nature. The results of the Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) in several areas in Yogyakarta since 2011 and in 2020 show the effectiveness of implementing the Wolbachia method resulting in a reduction in dengue fever cases of up to 77% and a reduction in hospital admissions of up to 86%.

This seminar presented several speakers, namely from the Indonesian Ministry of Health in Jakarta, Dr. Sang Gede Purnama SKM, MSc, dr. Putu Ayu Asri Damayanti, S.Ked., M.Kes., Prof. Cameron Simmons of the World Mosquito Program, dr. Iris Andono Ahmad, MPH., PhD from Gajah Mada University Yogyakarta, and Prof. Dr. drh. Gusti Ngurah Kade Mahardika and Prof. Dr. Pande Putu Januraga, M.Kes, Dr.PH., from Udayana University.