The Center for Child Health Studies (PKKA-PRO) at the UGM Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK UGM) collaborates on wastewater surveillance research with the Center for Outbreak Preparedness at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
This study aims to identify various compounds, bacteria, and potential hazardous diseases in wastewater resulting from industrial and community activities.
Dr. Risalia Reni Arisanti, a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Population Health at FK-KMK UGM, mentioned that this initiative aims to enhance institutional collaboration in community wastewater surveillance.
This program continues the wastewater surveillance efforts that FK-KMK UGM has been conducting since 2021.
Dr. Santi, as she is commonly called, stated that several developed countries, such as Australia and the Netherlands, have implemented wastewater surveillance systems. Human activity wastewater not only carries human waste but can also detect the spread of diseases or potential outbreaks.
Unlike Australia and the Netherlands, which have used wastewater systems to detect COVID-19, Indonesia has only used it for polio outbreak detection.
“Wastewater surveillance can be a more economical and efficient solution. It would be great if we could leverage the wastewater surveillance system. I believe this is a good start to expand the use of wastewater surveillance,” said Dr. Santi in a release sent to reporters on Friday (Jun. 14).
Regarding the collaboration with Duke-NUS Medical School, the wastewater surveillance program involves mapping stakeholders for wastewater surveillance implementation. At this stage, strategic planning for each institution was designed through a kick-off meeting and a quantitative survey on the urgency of wastewater surveillance.
The meeting, held on Apr. 30, 2024, was followed by a focus group discussion (FGD) on May 6-7, 2024, and a co-creation workshop on May 13, 2024, titled “Advancing Public Health: Institutionalizing Wastewater Surveillance in Indonesia.”
During the co-creation workshop discussion, several human pathogens and One Health were identified in wastewater surveillance. These pathogens include various bacteria and viruses prioritized for identification in wastewater.
So far, poliovirus, measles, and rotavirus have been listed as top priorities, while from a One Health perspective, avian influenza and antimicrobial-resistant pathogens are prioritized.
“These findings certainly facilitate stakeholders in implementing the surveillance program,” Dr. Santi emphasized.
Dr. Krisna Nur Andriana Pangesti, representing the Directorate of Public Health Governance at the Indonesian Ministry of Health, welcomed the environmental or wastewater surveillance initiative. This activity assesses the resistance level of several microbes in the environment.
The co-creation workshop on May 13, 2024, invited representatives from various institutions expected to collaborate in maintaining and improving public health.
Representatives from the Indonesian Ministry of Health, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Health Offices of DKI Jakarta, D.I. Yogyakarta, and East Java provinces, the National Public Health Laboratory, the National Environmental Health Laboratory, the National Veterinary Laboratory, the World Health Organization (WHO) Indonesia, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Indonesia attended the workshop.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson