- Project Leader : Yoshikawa Minako (Kyoto University)
- Collaborators : Rita Kusriastui (Vector borne Disease Control, Ministry of Health, Indonesia)
- : Nishibuchi Mitsuaki (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University)
- : Agus Suwandono (Center of Biomedic and Basic Health Technology, Ministry of Health, Indonesia)
Outline of Research
Mosquito-borne infectious diseases such as dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and chikungunya fever, have caused serious public health and socioeconomic burdens in tropical areas including Southeast Asia. This research will focus on Indonesia where more than 30% of patients brought dengue virus infection to Japan in 2010 identified as possible areas of infection, and aims to assist urban and tourist areas in Indonesia (tentative locations: Jakarta and/or Bali). This research aims to do so to find a speedy method to disseminate information regarding infectious diseases outbreak and transmission.
Description
The purpose of this research is to design a speedy and appropriate communication method to disseminate outbreak information of mosquito-borne infectious diseases, and contribute to improving preventive knowledge of both local people and visitors. In this era of globalization, viraemic travelers are often responsible for ex-/importing infectious diseases to other nations.. To prevent infectious diseases from transmitting across countries/areas, educating and providing information to travelers is essential. Based on field investigation, this research will recommend locally suitable and prompt ways to alert both local people and visitors as well as draw their attention to outbreaks of mosquito-borne infectious diseases.
Recently, several countries have reported local outbreaks originating from imported infections. Southeast Asia is one of the most popular destinations for Japanese, and is a region where vector mosquitoes are present. This collaborative research effort can be meaningful if it could contribute to delaying the imminent local outbreak of these mosquito-borne infections in Japan and improving the public health environment in Indonesia. Tropical urban and tourist areas are threatened by the mosquito-borne infectious diseases, and a prolonged endemic situation could undermine international confidence. As a result, local societies and economies could suffer negative effects. By establishing a system to provide rapid and accurate information of mosquito-borne infectious diseases, this research hopes to support efforts to prevent further infections. A well-established system could be potentially applied in other areas where infectious diseases are prevalent.
 Disease Control and Environmental Health Profile 2008, published by the Ministry of Health, Indonesia. |
 An insecticide fogging operation at a tourist hotel in Bali, Indonesia. |