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UGM introduces guidelines to handle Ebola
Simulation: Volunteers simulate Ebola early detection and preventive procedures formulated by the physics study program of the University of Gadjah Madaâs (UGM) School of Engineering in Yogyakarta on Tuesday
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Simulation: Volunteers simulate Ebola early detection and preventive procedures formulated by the physics study program of the University of Gadjah Madaâs (UGM) School of Engineering in Yogyakarta on Tuesday. Using the simulation, the UGM, together with the Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesian Amateur Radio Organization (Orari) and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), will develop standard operating procedures (SOP) for tackling Ebola infections. (JP/Slamet Susanto) (UGM) School of Engineering in Yogyakarta on Tuesday. Using the simulation, the UGM, together with the Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesian Amateur Radio Organization (Orari) and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), will develop standard operating procedures (SOP) for tackling Ebola infections. (JP/Slamet Susanto)
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span class="inline inline-center">Simulation: Volunteers simulate Ebola early detection and preventive procedures formulated by the physics study program of the University of Gadjah Mada's (UGM) School of Engineering in Yogyakarta on Tuesday. Using the simulation, the UGM, together with the Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesian Amateur Radio Organization (Orari) and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), will develop standard operating procedures (SOP) for tackling Ebola infections. (JP/Slamet Susanto)
Researchers from the physics study program of the University of Gadjah Mada's (UGM) School of Engineering on Tuesday introduced guidelines for anticipating and preventing the spread of Ebola, an infectious, often-fatal viral disease currently experiencing an outbreak in several African countries.
Sunarno, a professor of physics engineering at UGM, said Indonesia lacked both the knowledge and the adequate health equipment needed to detect Ebola early, a deadly illness that has killed nearly 5,000 people worldwide.
'Speaking frankly, we don't even have adequate equipment to detect Ebola early. A thermal camera, for instance, costs around Rp 110 million (US$9,053.51) and we still have to import it,' said Sunarno.
The Ebola epidemic has killed 4,922 out of the 10,141 infected people recorded, with three West African countries suffering most of the cases up to Oct. 23, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have reported 4,912 deaths out of 10,114 cases, the UN body said in its latest report on Saturday.
Sunarno said Ebola had continued to spread around the world, including to the US. 'Our knowledge of Ebola is very minimal. Ebola is very typical in nature and can spread quickly,' he said on the sidelines of a simulation of Ebola handling procedures.
Using the simulation, the UGM, together with the Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesian Amateur Radio Organization (Orari) and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), will formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) for tackling Ebola infections, which they will submit to the Yogyakarta governor.
It is hoped that the SOP could provide basic guidelines for an Ebola mitigation procedure on the national level.
Sunarno said Indonesia must have an integrated approach in the early detection and handling of Ebola. Moreover, geographically, Indonesia was at the crossroads of global sea and air routes and it had a high level of population mobility.
'Failure to formulate a proper SOP will open a chance for the disease to spread in Indonesia, as has happened in the US. The cases of Ebola-infected medical workers in the US show the country's failures in arranging a proper standard operating procedure to handle the disease,' said Sunarno. (ebf)
