ETANA WITH DKI JAKARTA HEALTH OFFICE HELD HEALTH EDUCATION ON HEPATITIS AND TUBERCOLOSIS

Jakarta, 3 September 2023 – PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia (Etana) in collaboration with the DKI Jakarta Health Service (Dinkes) is holding Health education and Cognition of Infectious Disease Management with the theme "Test and Treat Immediately". The health education is a part of the World Hepatitis Day Commemoration of the DKI Jakarta Province that is specifically discusses Hepatitis and Tubercolosis.  The speaker for Hepatitis education is Dr. Imelda Maria Loho, Sp. PD., FINASIM who will explain Hepatitis and its Prevention with Vaccination.

Dr. Dwi Oktavia, Head of the Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) Division of the DKI Jakarta Health Service, said, "This event aims to increase knowledge, awareness, and independence in preventing hepatitis infection and other priority diseases which of course needs the involvement of all of us to overcome them. "We have carried out countermeasure efforts in cross-sectoral collaborations, starting from habituating hand washing behavior, intensifying food safety training for processed and ready-to-eat food entrepreneurs, as well as training food safety ambassadors in schools and building healthy canteens to increasing access to clean water."

M. Indra Lamora, Head of Business Development PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia, said "Etana is contributing to efforts to control hepatitis by providing education to health workers and the community. Simultaneously with today's educational activities, we are  Kicking Off the Educational Presentation  on Hepatitis A to Elementary Schools in DKI Jakarta in collaboration with local Puskesmas. "As we know, numerous cases of hepatitis are found in elementary-school age children, so various efforts are needed to deal with this disease, such as implementing Clean and Healthy Living Behavior, as well as carrying out hepatitis immunization."

Dr. Imelda Maria Loho, Sp. PD., FINASIM said, "In general, there are five types of hepatitis, Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. Hepatitis A and E often show jaundice symptoms, the spread of which is caused by fecal-oral infections related to unclean living habits, contaminated food/drinks and poor sanitation. Whereas the spread of Hepatitis B is slightly different, many people are not aware of and not expecting it, such as through blood transfusions, transplants, syringe, and sex, while in Indonesia the majority of transmission is through mother to child. Hepatitis can be prevented by vaccination, where Hepatitis A vaccination for children starts at the age of 12 months, 2 doses with an interval of 6 to 36 months, while for adults it is available alone or in combination with Hepatitis B vaccine for 2 doses with a range of 0, 6-12 months. Hepatitis B Vaccination for children is conducted immediately after birth, under 24 hours."

Hepatitis has become a serious concern throughout the world, including in Indonesia. On April 5 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) received 10 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown etiology. Then on April 15 2022, WHO declared this incident an Extraordinary Event (KLB), this incident continues to increase with reports from various countries so that the number of probable cases worldwide is around 300 cases. This case was first reported in Indonesia on April 27, 2022.

At that time 3 cases was reported and until May 12, 2022 there was an increase in cases to 18 Case Reports. The eighteen cases are spread across 5 provinces, DKI Jakarta, North Sumatra, East Kalimantan and East Java. 4 fatalities were reported in DKI Jakarta, 1 in East Java, 1 in East Kalimantan and 1 in West Sumatra. By age, the average patient affected by acute hepatitis is 1-6 years old.

To the present, Hepatitis preventation efforts constantly being improved, taking Indonesia's commitment to achieving hepatitis elimination by 2030 into consideration. To commemorate the challenge, 28 July of every year is commemorated as World's Hepatitis Day.  This coincides with the resolution of the 63rd World Health Assembly (WHA) on 21 May 2010 which encouraged every country to commemorate World Hepatitis Day on 28 July.

Etana at a glance

Established in 2014, Etana is an Indonesian biopharmaceutical company that researches, manufactures and markets biological therapies for the Southeast Asian market. With a mission to serve patients by providing high quality, affordable, and innovative therapies, the company has built state-of-the-art local production facility that meet international and Indonesian FDA standards. The facility is able to produce biological therapy with halal certification from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). Etana aspires to become a leading biopharmaceutical company in the ASEAN region through aggressive expansion in production capacity and product development, with a primary focus on oncology and vaccine products.

Etana is led by a local management team who come from various international and domestic educational backgrounds and have strong experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, and are supported by a team of international investors and leading biopharmaceutical companies. Etana aims to provide innovative yet affordable therapies through local production, to support Indonesian government programs and larger market demands. Etana is currently a leading biotech company in Indonesia committed to the research and manufacture of monoclonal antibodies, mRNAs and other biological platforms.