Eradication of hepatitis in Indonesia 'not simple'

JAKARTA (JP): Although a lot of research has been conducted, eradication of hepatitis in Indonesia will not be an easy task and will take a long time, according to one expert.

Pratiwi Sudharmono, head of the Microbiology Department of the University of Indonesia Medical School, said over the weekend that clinical research had been conducted at the school, the hepatitis laboratory in Mataram, Lombok, and also at the Ministry of Health, but that they had found that the problem was not simple.

Presenting a scientific paper, Pratiwi applauded the work of the state-owned pharmaceutical company in Bandung, Biofarma, which produces hepatitis B vaccine.

"The operations (of the company) have helped supply medicine for the much needed vaccination of about one-and-a-half million babies here every year," she said.

She said that the figure would be higher if it included adults, including paramedics, who bear a high risk of being infected with the disease.

The paper, entitled "Virology, the Challenge of Medical Science and Technology in the Future," was presented at the 15th Medika Awards, held by Medika, a pharmaceutical and medical journal.

Touching on the AIDS problem, Pratiwi said the University of Indonesia Medical School and the Jakarta Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital had set up a special study group on AIDS involving several experts in an effort to anticipate the spread of the deadly disease.

"Preventing the disease is the only way to decrease the AIDS incidence in the whole world. In the United States the number of the people affected by AIDS is decreasing, but in developing countries, like Indonesia, it is tending to increase," she said.

Kartono Mohamad, Medika chief editor, presented awards to doctors whose articles and research had been published by Medika. Only the writings of those who work in public health centers and laboratories were eligible.

The first prize to Public Health Center staff went to Dwiana Ocvianti, who worked at a public health center in a remote southern Sumatran district, for her article entitled "Identification of High-Risk Pregnancies Using Monitoring Health Cards for Pregnant Women."

Second prize went to B.T. Ruddy P, Lanny Setiawan, Reginald Hutabarat, Sudjito and Sukwan Handali for their joint paper entitled "Hypertension in the Irian Jaya Hinterland."

Third prize was awarded to Damiana Rachmi Ken Nirmalawati for her paper entitled "The Prevalence of Worm Disease Among Elementary School Pupils in Padang Harapan District, Bengkulu." The writer was killed in a traffic accident in the area last year.

The first prize for laboratory research was Arjatmo Tjokronegoro for his article "Antibody Antisperm Against Spermatozoa: Its Possibility as a Method of Contraception."

Second laboratory research prize went to Eddy Rubianto Moeljono, Retno Budiati Farid, Shelley Jubhari and A. Latief Tjokke from Ujungpandang University for their joint article "Some Acceptance Characteristics of Cyclofem and HRP 102."

Third prize went to Efo Suarmiartha, Tangking Widarsa and Supriyadi from Denpasar University for their article "Sexual Behavior Which Results in the Spread of AIDS Among Truck Drivers Plying the Denpasar-Surabaya Route."

There were no winners this year in the library research category because none of the 40 articles published in Medika met with the prerequisites.

Medika's first prize for best commercial program went to Roxan of PT Hoechst Pharma Indonesia, followed by Zocor of PT Cetapharm and Terumo of Terumo Corporation.

Kartono said that Medika would summarize the articles it has published for local newspapers in an effort to popularize the development of science and technology in Indonesia. (05)