Soegeng Soegijanto

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) is an endemic disease in Indonesia with laboratory manifestations such as thrombocytopenia and hemoconcentration. The duration of fever in DHF can be an indicator of disease severity, but its relationship to laboratory parameters such as platelets and hematocrit requires further study. The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between platelet and hematocrit values and the duration of fever in DHF patients at Dr. Soedomo Trenggalek Regional General Hospital. This study used a cross-sectional design with secondary data from the medical records of 71 dengue fever patients. Statistical analysis used the Spearman correlation test to assess the relationship between platelets and hematocrit with fever duration. 54.93 % of patients were male, with the largest age group being young adults (26–45 years, 39.44%). The maximum duration of fever was 5 days (54.93 %). There was a weakly significant relationship between decreased platelets and increased duration of fever (p = 0.025; r = 0.266). However, there was no significant relationship between hematocrit and duration of fever (p = 0.359; r = -0.111). Platelets can be used as an indicator to estimate the duration of fever in dengue fever patients, while hematocrit did not show a significant relationship. These findings support the importance of platelet monitoring for the clinical management of dengue fever, although factors such as fluid therapy and disease phase need to be considered in hematocrit interpretation.

Inter‐genogroup reassortment of Rotavirus A (RVA) strains has highlighted the spread of unusual RVA strains worldwide. We previously reported the equine‐like G3 RVA as the predominant strain in Indonesia in 2015–2016. However, since July 2017, typical human genotypes G1 and G3 have replaced these strains completely. To understand how dynamic changes in RVA occur in Indonesia, we performed a detailed epidemiological study. A total of 356 stool specimens were collected from hospitalized children in Sidoarjo, Indonesia between 2018 and 2022. Whole‐genome sequencing was performed for all 26 RVA‐positive samples using next‐generation sequencing. Twenty‐four samples were determined to be the unusual RVA G9P[4], while two were G9P[6]. Detailed analysis revealed that seven G9P[4] strains had the typical DS‐1‐like backbone, while the other strains exhibited a double‐reassortant profile (G9‐N1) on the DS‐1‐like backbone. The Bayesian evolutionary analyses suggested that the Indonesian G9P[4] strains share a common ancestor with previously reported G9P[4] strains in the VP7 and VP4 genes. G9P[4] DS‐1‐like strains were identified as the predominant genotype in Indonesia in 2021 for the first time. These results suggest that the G9P[4] strains were generated from the previous G9P[4] strains that had undergone further intra‐reassortments with the other circulating strains.

Cell culture requires a suitable medium and environment for in vivo conditions. Conditions are created by regulating temperature, pH, oxygen, CO2, osmotic pressure, surfaces to adhere to cells, nutrients, and vitamins, protection against toxic substances, hormones, and growth factors that regulate cell growth and differentiation. In general, good cell growth occurs at a pH of 7.0 - 7.6. Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) is one of the supplement media to support cell growth. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of using FBS supplementation with various concentrations on vero cell culture media on DMEM (Dulbecco's modified eagle medium) media. Vero cell culture on DMEM media has been successfully carried out using FBS by observing its growth for 14 days. Vero cell culture process begins with the manufacture of media consisting of DMEM and FBS. The cell density of each well at 5% and 10% concentration media was 1017 cells/well. By varying the concentration of FBS in the culture medium, the difference in the number of cells produced can be observed under the microscope. The results showed that the number of Vero cells produced from DMEM media with 10% FBS concentration was higher than 5% FBS concentration. Thus, this study proves that the higher the concentration of FBS in the medium, the more it supports the cell growth process in the Vero cell culture process.

Dengue virus infection is caused by a dengue virus transmitted through mosquito bites from species Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti. The Ministry of Health takes action to reduce the prevalence of DHF by regulating the management of PSN 3M Plus. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and compliance with the management of PSN 3M Plus strategies of those living in Surabaya. A cross-sectional population-based google form questionnaire was conducted in January 2022 for four weeks (January 3, 2022, to January 29, 2022). Based on the bivariate analysis, gender and age of respondents were no relationship between compliance with the PSN 3M Plus (p-value >0.05). The results also showed no relationship between education and adherence to PSN 3M Plus (p-value > 0.05). However, based on previous studies, people with higher education showed better compliance. Public knowledge and attitude about the dengue virus and its transmission process can be increased by developing, modifying, and intervening in the people controlling dengue virus infection. Most people of Surabaya believe that dengue prevention is the complete responsibility of every people. Based on the bivariate analysis, the characteristics of respondents had no relationship with the PSN 3M Plus compliance  (p-value > 0.05). Knowledge and attitudes of the Surabaya people toward PSN 3M Plus are still good. However, the characteristics of the respondents did not significantly affect their knowledge and attitudes

An urban park is potentially a source of vector-borne disease transmission due to it being a natural and artificial mosquito breeding habitats combined with people's continuous presence. Thus, this study aims to screen the occurrence of knockdown-resistance (kdr) mutant alleles (V1016G and F1534C) in mosquito populations collected from urban parks in Surabaya, Indonesia. Cross sectional study was conducted in July 2019. A total of 28 ovitraps were installed in seven urban parks, having four ovitraps installed in each park. In total, 1,662 eggs were collected, and only 187 emerged into adult mosquitoes, consisting of 97 Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and 90 Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus. All-female adult mosquitoes (n=55) were tested using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction assay (AS-PCR) to detect voltage gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene mutations. This study found no mutations in Valine to Glysine mutation in point 1016 (V1016G) and Phenylalanine to Cysteine in point 1534 (F1534C) alleles in both two species. All of mosquito samples have wild type genotype of kdr alleles (V1016V and F1534F). Data were analysed using R Studio 1.4 Version by Genetics package. Results showed that the frequency of resistant alleles (G1016 and C1534) was zero, and the frequency of susceptible allele was 1 (V1016 and F1534). Insecticide bioassay could not be established due to the limited number of adult mosquitoes, so insecticide resistance status could not be determined. However, this study can be used as preliminary monitoring for the vector control program.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has a significant rapid transmission is an international public health concern. Several dengue-endemic countries reported similar clinical and laboratory features between COVID-19 and dengue in the early incubation period, and thus discerning the infection is difficult. As a dengue-endemic country, Indonesia also poses the same challenge during the COVID-19 outbreak. This current study analyzed the IgG and IgM profiles from COVID-19 patients by using a serological SARS-CoV-2 and dengue rapid test. In addition, 38 sera from healthy individuals (pre-COVID-19 date) were analyzed using a dengue rapid test. Among 120 samples, 4 samples indicated dengue IgG positive. However, IgM, NS1, and RT-PCR analyses showed negative results. Interestingly, regarding seropositivity of NS1 and DENV IgG from healthy individuals (pre COVID-19 infection), two samples were positive DENV IgG, while one of them was positive NS1. This suggested that in the dengue-endemic area, many people have already experienced dengue and have immunity against dengue virus. There is also the possibility of antibody cross-reactivity between COVID-19 and dengue infection. This also emphasizes the high demand for a rapid method with high sensitivity and specificity that can distinguish between SARS-CoV-2 and dengue.

Dengue virus (DENV), from the genus flavivirus of the family flaviviridae , causes serious health problems globally. Human monoclonal antibodies (HuMAb) can be used to elucidate the mechanisms of neutralization and antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of DENV infections, leading to the development of a vaccine or therapeutic antibodies. Here, we generated eight HuMAb clones from an Indonesian patient infected with DENV. These HuMAbs exhibited the typical characteristics of weak neutralizing antibodies including high cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses and targeting of the fusion loop epitope (FLE). However, one of the HuMAbs, 3G9, exhibited strong neutralization ability (NT ₅₀ < 0.1 µg/ml) and possessed a high somatic hyper-mutation rate of the variable region, indicating affinity-maturation. Administration of this antibody significantly improved the survival rate of interferon-α/β/γ receptor knockout C57BL/6 mice after a lethal DENV challenge. Additionally, Fc-modified 3G9 molecules that had lost their in vitro ADE activity showed significantly enhanced therapeutic potency in vivo and competed strongly with an ADE-prone antibody in vitro . Taken together, the affinity-matured FLE-targeting antibody 3G9 exhibits several promising features for therapeutic application including a low NT ₅₀ value, potential for pan-flavivirus infection treatment, and suppression of ADE. This study demonstrates the therapeutic potency of affinity-matured FLE-targeting antibodies.

In Vitro Study: Effect of Cobalt(II) Chloride Against Dengue Virus Type 1 in Vero Cells

Dengue is a kind of infectious disease that was distributed in the tropical and sub-tropical areas. To date, there is no clinically approved dengue vaccine or antiviral for humans, even though there have been great efforts towards this end. Therefore, finding the effective compound against dengue virus (DENV) replication is very important. Among the complex compounds, copper(II)-imidazole derivatives are of interest because of their biological and medicinal benefits. In the present study, antiviral activity of [Cu(2,4,5-triphenylimidazole)2]n, was evaluated against different stages of dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) replication in Vero cell using focus forming unit reduction assay and quantitative ELISA. [Cu(2,4,5-triphenylimidazole)2]n inhibited DENV-2 replication in Vero cells with IC50 = 2.3 μg/ml and SI= 19.42 when cells were treated 2 days after virus infection, whereas its CC50 for cytotoxicity to Vero cells was 44.174 μg/ml. The compound has high anti-DENV2 activity, less toxicity, and a high possibility to be considered a drug candidate.