Wolbachia Technology Implementation in Indonesia to Reduce Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: Ministry of Health Announcement

Jakarta, 16 November 2023

The Ministry of Health is implementing Wolbachia technological innovation to reduce the spread of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) in Indonesia.

The effectiveness of wolbachia technology has been researched since 2011 by the World Mosquito Program (WMP) and Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. The technology used is not in the category of genetic engineering.

Wolbachia itself is a bacteria that can only live in the bodies of insects, including mosquitoes. Wolbachia cannot survive outside insect body cells and cannot replicate itself without the help of its host insect. This is a natural property of the wolbachia bacteria. Wolbachia itself has been found naturally in the body of the Aedes albopictus mosquito.

“Neither the Wolbachia bacteria nor mosquitoes as their hosts are organisms resulting from genetic modification carried out in the laboratory. “In terms of genetic material, both the mosquitoes and the Wolbachia bacteria used are identical to organisms found in nature,” said Gadjah Mada University researcher Prof. Dr. Adi Utarini MSc, MPH, PhD

“Wolbachia is naturally found in more than 50% of insects, and has the characteristic of being a symbiont (having no negative impact) on its host. “Apart from that, a risk analysis carried out by 20 independent scientists in Indonesia concluded that the risk of adverse impacts on humans or the environment is negligible,” continued Prof. Uut.

In Indonesia itself, the Wolbachia technology used is implemented using a “replacement” method, where both male and female Wolbachia mosquitoes are released into natural populations. The goal is for female mosquitoes to mate with local mosquitoes and produce mosquito offspring that contain wolbachia. Eventually, almost all mosquitoes in natural populations will have wolbachia.

Wolbachia plays a role in blocking the replication of the dengue virus in the mosquito’s body. As a result, mosquitoes containing wolbachia are no longer able to transmit the dengue virus when the mosquitoes suck the blood of people infected with the dengue virus. Considering that wolbachia is found in mosquito eggs, this bacteria will be passed from one generation of mosquitoes to the next. As a result, the protective impact of Wolbachia against dengue transmission is sustainable.

The wolbachia approach has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence of dengue fever and the need for hospitalization for sufferers of the disease. This reduction will of course have an impact on significant cost savings in dengue control for countries that implement it, continued Prof. Uut.

“This approach is very effective in controlling diseases transmitted by mosquitoes in large urban areas that are densely populated and with high dengue incidence rates,” continued Prof. Uut.

Director of the Center for Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing (FKKMK) Gadjah Mada University, dr. Riris Andono Ahmad MPH, Ph.D added, trials on Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes previously carried out in Yogyakarta in 2018 proved effective.

“As a result, in locations where wolbachia has been distributed, it has been proven to be able to reduce cases of dengue fever by up to 77%, in addition to reducing the need for hospitalization of dengue patients in hospital by 86%.” explained Dr. Riris.

“The incidence of dengue fever in Indonesia is still high with a high death rate, especially among children, apart from that, there are still many areas reporting extraordinary incidents due to dengue fever. “This will save our children in the future,” said the Director of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (P2PM), Dr. Imran Pambudi.

The effectiveness of using Wolbachia technology to reduce the incidence of dengue fever has also been proven in 13 other countries, namely in Australia, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Laos, Vietnam, Kiribati, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Mexico, he continued.

In Singapore, Wolbachia technology is applied using a suppression method or reducing the number of mosquito populations. This strategy is implemented by releasing only male mosquitoes. Mating male mosquitoes with female mosquitoes in natural populations will produce eggs that cannot hatch.

So the mosquito population will decrease. However, female mosquitoes that still exist in natural populations will still have the ability to transmit the dengue virus. Apart from that, the suppression method requires the continuous release of male mosquitoes, so that the mosquito population can always be controlled. This requires enormous resources with temporary impacts.

This news was broadcast by the Communications and Public Services Bureau, Indonesian Ministry of Health. For further information, please contact the Halo Ministry of Health hotline number via hotline number 1500-567, SMS 081281562620 and email address [email protected].

Head of the Communications and Public Services Bureau

Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, M. Epid

2023-11-17 21:06:54
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