Pakar IDI Soroti Narasi Viral 'Nyamuk Bill Gates' Disebar di RI
Foto: Getty Images/iStockphoto/Noppharat05081977
- Peneliti yang juga pakar dari Ikatan Dokter Indonesia (IDI) Prof Zubairi Djoerban ikut menyoroti viral narasi penyebaran 'nyamuk Bill Gates' di Indonesia. Hal ini sebetulnya bermula dari kekhawatiran sejumlah pihak soal efektivitas penyebaran nyamuk wolbachia demi menangkal demam berdarah dengue (DBD).
Nama Bill Gates kemudian muncul saat program pemberantasan nyamuk wolbachia berasal dari World Mosquito Program (WMP), perusahaan milik Monash University yang juga mendapat dukungan dana Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Namun, Prof Zubairi menekankan penggunaan nyamuk berwolbachia sebetulnya sudah dilakukan sejak 2011 di Indonesia. Misalnya, dalam riset bersama ahli di Universitas Gadjah Mada, kasus berat yang memerlukan perawatan di RS terbukti berkurang signifikan hingga lebih dari 80 persen pasca nyamuk wolbachia disebar.
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"Bakteri wolbachia dapat melumpuhkan vurus dengue yang terkandung dalam nyamuk aedes aegypti," terang dia dalam akun X pribadinya, dikutip detikcom atas izin yang bersangkutan, Jumat (16/11/2023).
Dirinya mengibaratkan cara kerja wolbachia seperti vaksin yang diberikan pada manusia. Agar suatu penyakit tidak menular, nyamuk diberikan wolbachia untuk tidak lagi bisa menyebarkan virus dengue ke manusia. Bukan cuma di Tanah Air, banyak negara juga sudah melakukan metode serupa.
"Nyamuk ini sudah berhasil digunakan di beberapa bagian Brasil, Kepulauan Cayman, Panama, India, dan Singapura," bebernya Mengutip keterangan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Prof Zubairi menjelaskan dalam metode pengendalian DBD dengan wolbachia, yang disebar merupakan nyamuk jantan, sehingga tidak akan menggigit manusia.
"Juga tidak membahayakan dan tidak ikut menyebarkan virus Zika serta patogen lainnya," sorotnya.
Meski begitu, Prof Zubairi mengaku tidak heran bila masih banyak masyarakat yang menolak penanganan DBD dengan metode penyebaran nyamuk berwolbachia di tengah keterbatasan sosialisasi.
Seperti yang baru-baru ini dilaporkan di Bali, proses penyebaran nyamuk berwolbachia sementara ditunda imbas penolakan sejumlah warga.
"Begitulah ilmu pengetahuan, terus berkembang dengan berbagai pro dan kontra-nya," tegasnya sembari menekankan masyarakat untuk tidak khawatir berlebihan.
IDI Expert Highlights Viral Narrative 'Bill Gates Mosquito' Spread in RI
Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto/Noppharat05081977
- Researcher who is also an expert from the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), Prof Zubairi Djoerban, also highlighted the viral narrative of the spread of the 'Bill Gates mosquito' in Indonesia. This actually stems from concerns from a number of parties about the effectiveness of the spread of Wolbachia mosquitoes in preventing dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).
Bill Gates' name then appeared when the Wolbachia mosquito eradication program came from the World Mosquito Program (WMP), a company owned by Monash University which also received financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
However, Prof. Zubairi emphasized that the use of wolbachia mosquitoes has actually been carried out since 2011 in Indonesia. For example, in research with experts at Gadjah Mada University, serious cases requiring hospital treatment were shown to be significantly reduced by more than 80 percent after the Wolbachia mosquito was spread.
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"Wolbachia bacteria can paralyze the dengue virus contained in the Aedes aegypti mosquito," he explained in his personal X account, quoted by detikcom with permission from the person concerned, Friday (16/11/2023).
He likens the way Wolbachia works to a vaccine given to humans. To prevent a disease from being transmitted, mosquitoes are given wolbachia so they can no longer spread the dengue virus to humans. Not only in Indonesia, many countries have also implemented similar methods.
"This mosquito has been successfully used in several parts of Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, India and Singapore," he explained.
Quoting information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Prof. Zubairi explained that in the method of controlling dengue fever with wolbachia, it is male mosquitoes that are spread, so they will not bite humans.
"It is also not dangerous and does not contribute to the spread of the Zika virus and other pathogens," he stressed. Even so, Prof. Zubairi admitted that he was not surprised that there were still many people who refused to treat dengue fever using the method of spreading Wolbachia-bearing mosquitoes amidst limited socialization.
As recently reported in Bali, the process of spreading Wolbachia mosquitoes has been temporarily postponed due to the refusal of a number of residents.
"That's how science is, it continues to develop with various pros and cons," he stressed while emphasizing the public not to worry too much.