Monday 8 August 2022, the Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga received a visit from the Student Executive Board (BEM) of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Airlangga and a student exchange from Egypt. This visit was welcomed by the Head of Research Board of the Institute of Tropical Disease (ITD) Universitas Airlangga Marcellino Rudyanto, Drs., Apt., Msi., Ph.D., as well as a lecturer from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Airlangga. In this activity, the students also visited several laboratories at ITD, including the Dengue Laboratory and the NPMRD Laboratory. Hopefully, this visit can spread information about developing research at ITD abroad.

Friday, August 5, 2022, RC-GERID and the Institute of Tropical Disease held a Workshop with the theme “BSL3- Skill Update”. This workshop is conducted in Hybrid so that participants can listen offline and online. This event was welcomed by the head of ITD Prof. MARIA LUCIA INGE LUSIDA dr., M.Kes., Ph.D., SpMK, moderated by Dengue Laboratory researcher Siti Churrotin S.Si and speaker from Prof. Masanori Kameoka, Ph.D. from Kobe University, Japan. This workshop illustrates how the science of Bio-Safety Laboratory Level develops in terms of spatial planning, usage, and completing tasks according to established standards. It is hoped that the participants will be able to follow the development of science for safety in the implementation, both for diagnosis and research.

Research Center on Global Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease, Institute of Tropical Disease (ITD) Universitas Airlangga in collaboration with PT. Indolab Utama in webinar series. This activity was successfully carried out on Thursday, July 28, 2022, with the theme “Method of Testing Compounds with Potential as Antivirus”. This webinar presents great resources persons Mochamad Zakki Fahmi, Ph.D as a lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga, and Jonathan Gan, Ph.D as Technical Service Scientist Promega. More than 120 people took part in this activity. Mochamad Zakki Fahmi, Ph.D said that nanomaterials received special changes in virus-based theranostics, carbon dots play an important role in the treatment of HIV and other viruses. Several modifications may be made to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the nanoparticles. Jonathan Gan, Ph.D said that the cell viability test was used to correlate the number of living cells with the level of the virus. This webinar is expected to provide an understanding of the Method of Testing Compounds with Potential as Antivirus

The Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga received a visit from the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Udayana on Friday, July 22, 2022. This visit was for benchmarking the Master’s Study Program in Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Udayana. This visit was welcomed and well received by Laura Navika Yamani, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D as the Head of the Human Resources Division of the Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga. Seven representatives from the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Udayana, and the Head of the Master’s Study Program participated in this activity. The team representative visited the Hepatitis Laboratory and Malaria Laboratory at the Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga. This activity is a series of activities to visit the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, and see the Biomedical Laboratory facilities owned by Universitas Airlangga at the Institute of Tropical Disease. It is hoped that this collaboration can continue to be well established as an effort to improve science and health.

Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga received a visit from representatives of the Center for Veterinary Farma (Pusvetma) team on Monday, July 18, 2022. Pusvetma is one of the institutions that are active in producing animal vaccines. This visit was to hand over BHK21 Clone 13 cells to the Vaccine Research Center Laboratory, Institute of Tropical Disease, Airlangga University. This visit was welcomed and well received by the Secretary of the Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga Prof. Dr. Fedik Abdul Rantam, DVM. It is hoped that this coordination and cooperation will continue to be well established as an effort to improve science and health.

{:en}Institute of Tropical Disease (ITD), Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) hold annual workshop the 6th Molecular and Cell Culture (MCC) at the beginning of July 2022. This event was organized to facilitate transfer knowledge with regard to molecular biology lab techniques to the practitioners, researchers, and academics. This workshop which was scheduled for two days, 5 and 6 July 2022, was opened by ITD-UNAIR director Prof. Maria Inge Lusida, dr., M.Kes., Ph.D. There were a total of 19 participants from various institution and background coming from different regions such as Malang, Surabaya, Semarang, Jakarta, Lombok, and Pontianak. With the theme of “Gene Analysis using Sanger DNA Sequencing” which was explained in theory and hands on practice, participants were expected to understand more easily about the given techniques. In theoretical session, the lecture was delivered by Laura Navika Yamani, Ph.D, The Lecturer of FKM-UNAIR and also researcher in one of the research groups in ITD-UNAIR. The second lecture was presented by Audi Putra Santosa, BSc, The specialist product from PT. Biotek Prima  Indoplus (PT. BPI). During practical period in laboratories, participants were divided into 5 groups and each group was guided by 2 instructors. Participants got opportunities to do hands on experiment starting from DNA extraction, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and sequencing. Besides those activities, participants were also mentored on how to do data analysis from the sequencing result. This bioinformatic activity was guided by Laura Navika Yamani, Ph.D and Mochammad Amin, S.Si.,M.Si (The researcher of ITD_UNAIR). In this workshop, there was also discussion session, in which participants could share their experiences and obstacle from this workshop as well as from their own projects in the home institution. This event was supported by PT. BPI and PUI-PT Research Center on Global Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (RC-GERID). In this workshop, there was also held a mini exhibition. The exhibition was followed by all research groups in ITD-UNAIR, showing their research by means of publications or top products. Apart from research groups, there was stan from Indonesian Journal of Tropical and Infectious Disease (IJTID) which is an international journal own by ITD-UNAIR. PT. BPI also contributed in this exhibition by displaying some labs equipments (including real time PCR and plate reader), reagents, and consumable materials regarding molecular biology. Besides theory and practice, there was a lab tour program. In this session, participants could directly interact with researchers in each research group of ITD-UNAIR concerning the post and ongoing project. From this, participants could get information with regard to collaboration that can be done in ITD-UNAIR. This workshop was finished by giving certificate and closed by the chief of MCC committee, Ilham Harlan Amarullah, BASc.{:}{:id}Lembaga Penyakit Tropis (LPT), Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) menyelenggarakan annual workshop ”the 6th Molecular and Cell Culture (MCC)” pada awal bulan Juli 2022. Acara workshop ini diselenggarakan dengan tujuan sebagai sarana transfer knowledge terkait teknik laboratorium biologi molekuler kepada para praktisi, peneliti dan akademisi. Acara yang dilaksanakan selama 2 hari ini yaitu tanggal 5 dan 6 Juli 2022, dibuka langsung oleh ketua LPT-UNAIR Prof. Maria Inge Lusida, dr., M.Kes., Ph.D. Total peserta yang berpartisipasi dalam workshop ini sebanyak 19 orang dari berbagai institusi dan disiplin ilmu yang berasal dari bererapa wilayah diantaranya Malang, Surabaya, Semarang, Jakarta, Lombok, dan Pontianak. Mengusung tema “Gene Analysis using Sanger DNA Sequencing” yang disampaikan secara teori dan praktik secara hands on, para peserta diharapkan mampu memahami dengan mudah tentang teknik yang disampaikan. Pada sesi teori, materi disampaikan oleh Laura Navika Yamani, Ph.D, beliau merupakan dosen FKM-Unair dan juga peneliti di salah satu kelompok studi di LPT-UNAIR. Materi kedua disampaikan oleh Audi Putra Santosa, BSc, beliau merupakan specialist product dari PT. Biotek Prima  Indoplus (PT. BPI). Selama kegiatan praktik di laboratorium, peserta dibagi menjadi 5 kelompok dan masing-masing kelompok didampingi oleh 2 instruktur. Para peserta mendapatkan kesempatan untuk melakukan uji secara hands on mulai dari proses ekstraksi DNA, PCR, elektroforesis gel agarosa, dan sekuensing. Selain penyampaian materi (teori) dan kegiatan praktik di laboratorium, para peserta juga dibimbing bagaimana cara untuk menganalisis hasil sekuensing. Analisis data (hasil sekuensing) secara bioinformatik ini dipandu oleh Laura Navika Yamani, Ph.D dan Mochammad Amin, S.Si.,M.Si (peneliti dari LPT-UNAIR). Pada workshop ini juga ada sesi diskusi, dimana pada sesi ini para peserta bisa berbagi pengalaman dan kendala yang didapatkan selama melakukan kegiatan workshop ini atau kendala yang didapatkan dari institusi asal. Workshop ini didukung oleh PT. BPI dan PUI-PT Research Center on Global Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (RC-GERID). Pada workshop ini, kami juga menggelar pameran mini. Pameran ini diikuti oleh semua kelompok studi yang terdapat di LPT-UNAIR, yang menampilkan hasil riset baik dalam bentuk publikasi maupun produk unggulan mereka. Selain dari kelompok studi,  juga terdapat stan dari tim Indonesian Journal of Tropical and Infectious Disease (IJTID) yang merupakan jurnal internasional yang dimiliki oleh LPT-UNAIR. PT. BPI juga turut serta dalam pameran ini dengan menampilkan beberapa alat laboratorium, reagent, dan bahan habis pakai yang terkait bidang biologi molecular seperti mesin real time PCR dan plate reader. Selain teori dan praktik, ada juga program tour laboratorium. Dengan program ini para peserta bisa berinteraksi langsung dengan para peneliti dimasing-masing laboratorium LPT-UNAIR terkait informasi project/riset yang sedang dan telah para peneliti LPT-UNAIR kerjakan. Dari informasi ini para peserta bisa mendapatkan informasi kerjsama penelitian yang bisa dikerjakan di LPT-UNAIR. Workshop diakhiri dengan pembagian sertifikat dan ditutup oleh Ketua Acara workshop The 6th MCC, Ilham Harlan Amarullah, BASc.{:}

{:en}Monday, July 4, 2022, at Aston Inn Batu Malang, East Java, an FGD (forum group discussion) and workshop on the preparation of scientific articles were held by C-NPMRD (Center-Natural Product Medicine Research and Development), ITD (Institute of Tropical Disease), Universitas Airlangga. The event lasted for three days intending to provide and stimulate C-NPMRD researchers to be able to finalize their research results as scientific articles which can be published internationally. The FGD and workshop activities on the first day were opened by the chairman of NPMRD, Prof. Dr. apt. Aty Widyawaruyanti, M.Si,. with explanation of the vision and mission of C-NPMRD and the role of C-NPMRD in the scientific community. The vision of C-NPMRD is to become a leading and innovative center in the field of research and development of natural medicine at the national and international. Meanwhile, the missions of C-NPMRD are to conduct research and development through national and international collaborations, publications, drug discovery research to increase capacity building for Indonesian drug independence and to develop excellent human resources. In the event, the C-NPMRD researchers were divided into 4 discussion groups, namely the Phytochemical team, the Malaria team, the Hepatitis C Viral (HCV) and other viral teams, and the Amoeba team. The four teams explained research progress, scientific publications, research services, and further research plans. On the first day, that was also mapped which research was eligible to be written as scientific articles. On the second and third days, the researchers wrote scientific articles together and discussed them according to their research expertise. A total of two publications submitted followed by 8 publications will be submitted until August 2022. This achievement and spirit of togetherness are expected to contribute directly to C-NPMRD and ITD Universitas Airlangga therefore can contribute to accelerating Universitas Airlangga as a World Class University by a target rank of 401-500 on the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Ranking system through international publications and citations index. (lyd-DT){:}{:id}Senin, 4 Juli 2022, bertempat di Aston Inn Batu Malang, Jawa Timur telah diselenggarakan acara FGD (forum grub discussion) dan workshop penyusunan artikel ilmiah oleh C-NPMRD (Center-Natural Product Medicine Research and Development), LPT (Lembaga Penyakit Tropis), Universitas Airlangga. Acara tersebut berlangsung selama tiga hari dengan tujuan memberikan stimulus kepada para peneliti C-NPMRD untuk dapat memfinalisasi hasil penelitian mereka dalam bentuk artikel ilmiah sehingga dapat dipublikasikan secara internasional. Kegiatan FGD dan workshop dihari pertama dibuka oleh ketua NPMRD, Prof. Dr. apt. Aty Widyawaruyanti, M.Si,. dengan paparan visi dan misi C-NPMRD serta peran NPMRD dalam masyarakat ilmiah. Adapun visi C-NPMRD yaitu menjadi center yang unggul dan inovatif dalam bidang penelitian dan pengembangan obat bahan alam di tingkat nasional dan internasional. Sedangkan misi dari C-NPMRD sendiri adalah melakukan riset dan pengembangan melalui kolaborasi nasional maupun internasional, publikasi dan riset drug discovery untuk peningkatan capacity building kemandirian obat Indonesia, serta pengembangan SDM unggul. Dalam FGD tersebut para peneliti C-NPMRD dibagi dalam 4 kelompok grup diskusi yaitu tim Fitokimia, tim Malaria, tim Hepatitis C Viral (HCV) and other viral, dan tim Amoeba. Keempat tim tersebut melakukan paparan progress penelitian, publikasi ilmiah, pelayana penelitian, serta rencana penelitian lanjutan. Pada hari pertama ini juga dipetakan penelitian-penelitian mana yang sudah layak untuk ditulis dalam bentuk artikel ilmiah. Adapun pada hari kedua dan ketiga, para peneliti melakukan penulisan artikel ilmiah bersama dan berdiskusi sesuai bidang kepakaran masing-masing. Total publikasi yang disubmitt sejumlah dua buah dengan 8 publikasi akan menyusul sampai bulan Agustus 2022. Capaian dan semangat kebersamaan ini diharapkan akan berkontribusi secara langsung pada C-NPMRD dan LPT Univeristas Airlangga sehingga mempercepat Universitas Airlangga sebagai World Class University dengan target rank 401-500 pada sistem peringkatan Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Universitas Ranking melalui publikasi internasional dan sitasi index. (lyd-DT){:}

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus was detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China for the first time and quickly spread into a global pandemic. This study aims to predict the potential of macroalgae bioactive compounds as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals by inhibiting the ACE2 receptor through an in silico approach. Twenty-seven macroalgal compounds were obtained from PubChem (NCBI, USA), while the target protein ACE2 receptor was collected from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). Then the drug similarity screening was carried out using Lipinski’s rules from five web servers and prediction of bioactive compounds was carried out using PASS (predicted activity spectrum for biologically active substances) via an online web server. After the compound was approved by Lipinski’s five rule and PASS online prediction web server, blind docking simulations were performed with PyRx 0.8 software to show the binding energy values. Molecular interaction analysis was performed with BIOVIA Discovery Studio 2016 v16.1.0 and PyMOL v2.4.1 software. There are six macroalgae compounds approved by Lipinski rules and PASS Analysis Online. The result was that the macroalgae siphonaxanthin among 27 macroalgae compounds showed a strong binding energy to bind to the ACE2 receptor with a value of -8.8 kcal/mol. This study also used SARS-CoV-2 drugs as positive controls, namely remdesivir, molnupiravir, baricitinib, lopinavir, oseltamivir, and favipiravir. The results showed that siphonaxanthin had the lowest binding energy compared to common drugs SARS-CoV-2. Macroalgae compounds are predicted to have potential as SARS-CoV-2 antivirals. Thus, further studies need to be investigated with in vitro and in vivo analyzes to confirm the inhibitory activity of siphonaxanthin against SARS-CoV-2. Authors: Teguh Hari Sucipto, Hasriaton Padmi, Rahadian Zainul et al. Article Title: Macroalgae Bioactive Compounds for the Potential Antiviral of SARS-CoV-2: An In Silico Study Detailed information about this scientific article can be found at: https://microbiologyjournal.org/macroalgae-bioactive-compounds-for-the-potential-antiviral-of-sars-cov-2-an-in-silico-study/ Source : unair.ac.id

{:en}Tuberculosis (TB) and Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) are infectious diseases that infect the respiratory tract. Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis while COVID-19 is caused by SARS CoV-2. Transmission of the disease is through coughing, sneezing and close contact with infected individuals. Tuberculosis disease has spread throughout the world and it is reported that Indonesia is ranked second in the world (543,874 cases), so, serious attention is needed by various sectors to suppress the transmission and elimination of this disease. During the COVID-19 pandemic during the last two years there were indications of COVID-19 coinfection in pulmonary tuberculosis patients, this was due to the risk and severity caused by COVID-19 disease and the high risk of death due to the development of new diseases in TB patients. Data released by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia related to the development of TB cases shows a fluctuating trend over the past decade. In 2020, the incidence of TB cases in Indonesia increased to 845,000 with a mortality of more than 98,000 people. Furthermore, in 2021 there was a decline in cases reaching 2.04% from the previous year as many as 393,323 cases as a result of the government’s attention being focused on reducing the incidence of COVID-19. However, WHO determined that Indonesia urgently needed to carry out epidemiological surveillance of TB disease during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was due to a decrease in monthly and quarterly TB notifications and the first half of 2021 substantially decreased from 2019 in most countries with the highest TB burden. . Reportedly, a relative reduction in annual notifications between 2019 and 2020 was seen in Gabon (80%), the Philippines (37%), Lesotho (35%), Indonesia (31%) and India (25%) so that the real number of TB cases is estimated much higher than those found and treated and a decline in 2021 presumably many cases go unreported. Taking into account the updated information released by the World Health Organization, secondary data-based epidemiological surveillance was carried out by utilizing regional data reports released annually. The data used is the number of confirmed cases of positive TB and COVID-19 in the East Java Province and compared with each other with other factors or determinants. Geographical mapping of the distribution of cases of tuberculosis and COVID-19 was also carried out using the Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) to identify areas that have the potential to have the highest level of risk and severity of these two diseases. There are several indicators that are reviewed for the correlation between these two diseases, including: the correlation between the incidence and mortality rates of tuberculosis and COVID-19 cases, the relationship between case cure rates and death rates for tuberculosis cases, the incidence and success rates of tuberculosis treatment, the correlation between treatment success rates. and the death rate of tuberculosis cases, the rate of case recovery, and the death rate of COVID-19 cases as well as the calculation of geographical factors including the ratio of puskesmas, the number of doctors, nurses, midwives, public health workers, environmental health workers, nutritionists, and pharmacists and all ratios are calculated per 100,000 inhabitants. The results of the study obtained that the incidence of tuberculosis in East Java Province in 2020 was 95.49/100,000 population with varying case cure rates. TB cases are dominated by the male sex community. The number of women in East Java in 2020 reached 20,374,104, while men reached 20,291,592. The population with tuberculosis which is dominated by women is only found in Probolinggo district with a higher number of women (604) than men (561). Furthermore, the highest infection rate was found in Madiun (296.51/100,000 population), while the lowest was in Malang (0.07/100,000 population). The incidence ratio of tuberculosis cases based on gender was found for men (117.66/100,000 people) higher than women (93.49/100,000 people). The district with the highest incidence of tuberculosis in males is Madiun (342.62/100,000 population) and the lowest is Pacitan (57.88/100,000 population). Furthermore, in the female gender, the highest incidence of tuberculosis was in Pasuruan (223.16/100,000 people) and the lowest was in Pacitan (93.49/100,000 people). Based on the findings, the highest incidence of COVID-19 infection was found in Mojokerto (789.9/100,000 population), while the lowest was found in Sampang (52.5/100,000 population). Analysis by gender found that the incidence of COVID-19 in women (210.74/100,000 population) was higher than that of men (198.04/100,000 population). Meanwhile, the regency with the highest male population is in Mojokerto (744.46/100,000 people), while the lowest is in Sampang (48.58/100,000 people). The district with the highest incidence of COVID-19 in women is Mojokerto (804.51/100,000 people), while the lowest is in Madiun (51.14/100,000 people). The overall death rate for tuberculosis cases in East Java Province in Indonesia is 3.6%. The highest TB infection CFR was found in Probolinggo (7%), while the lowest was found in Surabaya (0.4%). Meanwhile, the highest CFR of COVID-19 infection was found in Pasuruan (11%), while the lowest was found in Tulungagung 2.1%. Furthermore, the highest cure rate for tuberculosis cases was in Magetan (96.6%), while the lowest was in Batu City (11.3%). Meanwhile, the COVID-19 Case Recovery Rate is defined as a COVID-19 patient with a positive result at the beginning of the RT-PCR, and a negative result at the end of the examination. The highest cure rate for COVID-19 cases was in Sidoarjo (92.6%), while the lowest was found in Tuban (64.5%). The highest success rate of tuberculosis treatment was in Magetan (95.97%), while the lowest was found in Bondowoso (65.89%). Calculation of the number of COVID-19 cases based on age group obtained the highest age in the range of 46-59 years (23,947 individuals), while the lowest was found in the age of 3-6 years (771 individuals). In this study, it was reported that there was no significant relationship between the incidence and mortality of tuberculosis cases (p = 0.912, p>0.05). It was also found that there was no significant relationship between the incidence and case fatality rates for COVID-19 (p = 0.219, p > 0.05), case cure rates and case fatality rates

{:en}On 14-17 June 2022 Airlangga Disease Prevention and Research Center – One Health Collaborating Center (ADPRC-OHCC) in collaboration with the Biosafety Engagement Program (BEP) and Tropical Disease Institute, Universitas Airlangga held a Workshop on Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity. This activity aims to improve the understanding and ability of lab workers in applying the principles of biosafety and biosecurity in the laboratory. This workshop was held virtually and face to face at the Tropical Disease Institute, Universitas Airlangga. A total of 25 participants consisting of lab workers at universities, government and hospitals were invited to this activity. The practicum sessions carried out included: risk assessments, hand washing, donning-doffing PPE BSL-2 and spills. Writer : Firdausy Kurnia (ADPRC-OHCC) {:}{:id}Pada tanggal 14-17 Juni 2022 Airlangga Disease Prevention and Research Center – One Health Collaborating Center (ADPRC-OHCC) bekerjasama dengan Biosafety Engagement Program (BEP) dan Lembaga Penyakit Tropis, Universitas Airlangga menyelenggarakan Workshop Biosafety dan Biosecurity Laboratorium. Kegiatan ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan pemahaman dan kemampuan pekerja lab dalam penerapan prinsip-prinsip biosafety dan biosecurity di laboratorium. Workshop ini dilaksanakan secara virtual dan tatap muka di Tropical Disease Institute Universitas Airlangga. Sebanyak 25 peserta yang terdiri dari pekerja lab di universitas, pemerintah dan rumah sakit diundang dalam kegiatan ini. Penulis : Firdausy Kurnia (ADPRC-OHCC){:}