Dengue Fever, a mosquitos borne infections, is estimated to infect 390 millions and kill 25,000 people every year. In the past decade, Prof. Adi Utarini and her colleagues, supported by Tahija Foundation, have developed unorthodox approaches to end this global health threats. The experiment loads Aedes aegypti, mosquito species that carry Dengue virus, with a bacterium called Wolbachia. The bacterium prevents Aedes aegypti mosquitos from being infected by the dengue viruses. A pilot study in Yogyakarta show after small number of Wolbachia carrier mosquitoes are released into a neighborhood, the areas soon become dengue free insects with a significant decrease of Dengue Fever cases.
HCI collaborates with Tahija Foundation, would like to have an open discussion on the topic. Would this groundbreaking finding, led by Indonesian Scientist, be the start of a dengue free era? How can we learn from this experience to end other global health threats?
Below are the speakers and topics of discussions:
- George Tahija. Chairman of the Supervisory Board Yayasan Tahija, Commissioner PT Austindo Nusantara Jaya Tbk.
- Prof. dr. Adi Utarini, M.Sc, MPH, Ph.D. Project Leader WMP Indonesia
- Dr. Claudia Surjadja MPH, MSc. DrPH. Asia Regional Director, World Mosquito Program Global.
Moderator: Daniel Budiman. HBS MBA 1995. Founding and Managing Partner of Mahanusa Capital.
