The Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, collaborated with the Sleman Regency Health Office and the Sleman Regency Government, held a Covid-19 screening activity for health workers at the public health centers and communities in Sleman Regency. This Covid-19 screening activity or rapid detection uses RDT RI-GHA Covid-19 by the faculty research team, Mataram Hepatic Laboratory, West Nusa Tenggara, and Airlangga University Surabaya.
The opening of the Covid-19 screening activity for health workers took place at Public Health Center II Mlati, Sleman attended by the Regent of Sleman, Drs. H. Sri Purnomo, M.Si, Vice Rector for Research and Community Service, drg. Ika Dewi Ana, M.Kes., Ph.D, Dean of FKKMK, Prof. dr. Ova Emilia, M.Med.Ed., SpOG (K)., PhD, and the research team.
The purpose of rapid detection at this public health center is to determine the status of Covid-19 for health workers so that health service facilities can be free from stigma and can ensure the safety of services for the public. This kind of activity needs to be carried out continuously; thus, the community can use the necessary health service facilities.
The rapid tests for health workers at health centers with RDT-GHA Covid-19 were scheduled to be carried out in 25 health centers in Sleman. It was done considering the development of the Covid-19 case in Indonesia and in the Yogyakarta region, which has made people more afraid to access health services.
Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing UGM, Prof. dr. Ova Emilia, M.Med.Ed., SpOG (K)., Ph.D., said that the Covid-19 outbreak offers its wisdom, one of which is to encourage many parties to think innovatively on how to help themselves.
“Many innovations have emerged in the limitation situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of them is a tool developed by the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing UGM team, Airlangga and the University of Mataram, namely a rapid test kit named GHA Covid-19, which stands for Gadjah Mada Hematics Airlangga. It is a rapid test developed together with the Indonesian children,” he said, at the Public Health Center II Mlati on Thursday (18/6).
He hopes that by carrying out tests with this tool on health workers at health centers, health centers will receive health insurance, and health workers can know their status and are safe so that this results in people not afraid to visit health facilities anymore.
Regent of Sleman, Drs. H. Sri Purnomo, M.Sc., welcomed the implementation of the rapid test for health workers at health centers in Sleman. He hopes that the RDT-GHA Covid-19 rapid test tool can be reproduced following WHO standards.
With a cheaper rapid test tool, it will undoubtedly be more affordable and can be tested everywhere. With a simpler tool, it is expected that many people in Yogyakarta and Indonesia can carry out rapid tests; thus, their status will become clearer when they enter the new normal.
“Covid-19 is around us and there is no need to be afraid to work and run the economy when we know how to prevent it. Of course, these kinds of methods give a sense of security to parents who send their children to Yogyakarta because soon we will welcome new students,” he said.
Vice Vector for Research and Community Service, drg. Ika Dewi Ana, M. Kes., Ph.D., expressed her gratitude to researchers for their hard work to research this tool amid a period of maximum restriction.
“Thank you to the Regent of Sleman and staff who are willing to work together in implementing the results of research from UGM,” she said.
RI-GHA COVID-19 is an antibody-based early detection tool. The advantages of this rapid test for Covid-19 are fast, readable results in 15 minutes, specific, easy to use. Production costs are affordable, and in the long term, RI-GHA COVID-19 can support monitoring the development of Covid-19 in Indonesia, such as for contact tracing and surveillance efforts.
Professor of the UGM Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Prof. Sofia Mubarika Haryana., One of the researchers said creating an antibody-based Covid-19 rapid diagnostic test (RDT) innovation to detect IgM and IgG produced by the body to fight Covid-19.
“In addition to screening, GHA COVID-19 can also be used to monitor people without symptom, people under surveillance, patient under surveillance, or post-infection. Aside from its low cost, this rapid diagnostic test has the advantage of being able to detect quickly for 5-10 minutes, easily, practically, with high sensitivity, and very specific,” he explained. Some of the materials, he said, are imported at a ratio of 50:50; thus, this rapid test is cheaper.
He hopes that with the RI-GHA Covid-19 in health and community service facilities, there will be no more late treatment patients.
“Initially we produced 10 thousand, and then we will increase production, and the Ministry of Health has ordered 2 million units,” he added.
Several other researchers involved in developing RI-GHA COVID-19 are Prof. dr. Tri Wibawa, virologist and Professor of Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing UGM, Prof. Mulyanto, alumnae of Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing UGM who is also a researcher at the Mataram Hepatic Laboratory, West Nusa Tenggara. There is also Prof. Dr. drh. Fedik Abdul Rantam, Virologist and Prof. Cita Rosita Sigit Prakoeswa, Professor of Airlangga University, Surabaya.
