Terlepas dari tantangan pandemi COVID-19, Clara Imaniar Peneliti Balai Penelitian dan Pengembangan Kesehatan Papua terpilih menjadi fellow dalam kegiatan “Fellowship SEAOHUN 2021”. Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) didirikan pada tahun 2011 untuk mengembangkan generasi tenaga kerja One Health (OH) yang terampil dan kompeten dengan dukungan dari U.S. Agency for International Development dan One Health Workforce project. Salah satu program rutin dari SEAOHUN adalah SEAOHUN Fellowship. Kegiatan Fellowship SEAOHUN bertujuan untuk memperkuat tenaga kerja One Health dengan mendorong profesional muda dan karir menengah di bidang kesehatan manusia, kesehatan hewan, dan kesehatan lingkungan untuk mendapatkan pengalaman praktis bekerja pada isu-isu One Health di lembaga akademik, kesehatan dan penelitian terkemuka, lembaga pemerintah, internasional & organisasi non-pemerintah non-internasional di Asia Tenggara. Kantor sekretariat SEAOHUN bertempat di Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Fellowship SEAOHUN 2021 bertempat di EVRU (Emerging Virus Research Unit), Eijkman, Jakarta. Selama 5 bulan Clara berkontribusi dalam pengujian molekuler patogen penyebab pernapasan penyakit influenza, mempelajari teknik laboratorium molekuler, ELISA in-house, Whole Genome Sequencing, dasar kultur virus, analisis data bioinformatik. Clara melakukan pengujian molekuler dari ekstraksi hingga PCR dengan target Chikungunya.

Selain kegiatan di laboratorium EVRU, Eijkman, Clara juga terlibat dalam studi Kerjasama antara Eijkman dan Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar. Studi dilaksanakan selama 1 bulan dengan melibatkan 10 enumerator dokter dari Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Hasanuddin. Studi yang dilakukan berfokus pada sikap dan perilaku masyarakat Sulawesi Selatan selama pandemi COVID-19. Pandemi Covid-19 berdampak besar pada pelayanan kesehatan. Saat ini, sumber daya di fasilitas kesehatan difokuskan untuk menangani situasi wabah. Situasi wabah yang berkepanjangan diperkirakan membuat masyarakat takut datang ke fasilitas Kesehatan, kecuali menderita gejala Covid-19 atau takut tertular setelah kontak dengan kasus terkonfirmasi. Sejalan dengan itu, perilaku preventif  dilakukan oleh pemerintah dan gencar disosialisasikan sebagai cara pencegahan penularan covid-19 yaitu dengan menggunakan masker, sering mencuci tangan, menjaga jarak minimal 1 meter dari orang lain dan menghindari keramaian (3M). Menariknya, selain suspek covid, sebagian besar fasilitas kesehatan melaporkan penurunan kasus demam yang signifikan sebagai gejala penyakit menular utama, seperti demam berdarah, tipus, diare, campak, dan infeksi saluran pernapasan lainnya selain covid-19. Adanya penurunan angka kunjungan selama pandemi membuat kedua institusi tertarik untuk menilik lebih dalam situasi ini. Clara sebagai fellow dalam kegiatan ini terlibat dalam pembuatan kuesioner, kegiatan studi di lapangan serta pengolahan data bersama dengan staff EVRU, Eijkman & Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Hasanuddin.

Terlibat dalam kegiatan SEAOHUN Fellowship 2021 merupakan pengalaman yang sangat berharga bagi Clara untuk memperluas ilmu lebih luas lagi. Ilmu yang didapat diharapkan menjadi modal untuk membangun sistem Kesehatan yang lebih baik lagi, khususnya untuk tanah Papua. 

Penulis: Clara Imaniar

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Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Clara Imaniar, Center for Papua Health Research & Development employee was selected to be a fellow in the 2021 SEAOHUN fellowship activity. The Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) was established in 2011 to develop the next generation of skillful and competent One Health (OH) workforce with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development and its One Health Workforce project.  SEAOHUN Fellowship program strives to strengthen One Health workforce by encouraging young and mid-career professionals in human health, animal health, and environmental health to gain practical experience working on One Health issues at leading academic, health and research institutions, government agencies, international & non-international non-governmental organizations in Southeast Asia. The SEAOHUN Secretariat based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The SEAOHUN 2021 Fellowship took place at the EVRU (Emerging Virus Research Unit), Eijkman, Jakarta. For 5 months Clara contributed to molecular testing of respiratory pathogens causing influenza-type illness, studying molecular laboratory techniques, in-house ELISA, Whole Genome Sequencing, basic viral culture, analysis of bioinformatic data. Clara carried out molecular testing from extraction to PCR with Chikungunya targets.

In addition to activities in the EVRU laboratory, Eijkman, Clara also involved in the study between Eijkman and the Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar. The study was carried out for 1 month involving 10 enumerators of medical doctors from the Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University. The study focused on the attitudes and behavior of the people of South Sulawesi during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on healthcare services. Currently, resources in health facilities are focused on dealing with the outbreak situation. The prolonged outbreak situation is expected to make people afraid to come to health facilities, unless they suffer from Covid-19 symptoms or are afraid of contracting after contact with a confirmed case. In line with that, preventive behavior is carried out by the government and is intensively socialized as a way to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, namely by using masks, washing hands frequently, maintaining a minimum distance of 1 meter from other people and avoiding crowds (3M). Interestingly, apart from suspected COVID-19 cases, most health facilities reported a significant decrease in cases of fever as a symptom of major infectious diseases, such as dengue fever, typhoid, diarrhea, measles, and other respiratory infections other than COVID-19. The decline in the number of visits during the pandemic made both institutions interested in taking a closer look at this situation. Clara as a fellow in this activity was involved in making questionnaires, field studies and data processing together with EVRU staff, Eijkman & Hasanuddin University Faculty of Medicine.

Being involved in the 2021 SEAOHUN Fellowship is a very valuable experience for Clara to expand her knowledge even more. The knowledge gained is expected to be the capital to build a better health system, especially for the land of Papua.