UNAIR NEWS – The Immunology Master’s program of the Postgraduate School, Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) held another Airlangga Forum on Friday, Dec 29, 2023. This time, UNAIR Postgraduate School raised the theme of “Welcoming the New Year, Beware of Rising Pneumonia”. The event also invited three UNAIR postgraduate immunology lecturers, Dr. Waode Fifin Ervina Muslihi, SGz M Imun, Dr. Salma Zulqaida SSi MSi, and Dr. Ni Luh Ayu MKed Trop as speakers. Dr Valensa Yosephi, a UNAIR Postgraduate School student was also present to give his opinion.
In one of her presentations, Dr Salma Zulqaida SSi MSi explained that pneumonia is a respiratory infection caused by bacteria. The disease can attack children and adults due to unpredictable weather changes.
“Currently, the weather is transitioning to the rainy season, but sometimes the weather is unpredictable. It triggers the development of bacterial growth faster,” she concluded.
Pneumonia symptoms
On the other hand, Dr. Valensa Yosephi said that pneumonia symptoms are similar to inflammatory diseases. It can be triggered by microorganisms, fungal bacteria, or exposure to other chemicals.
She divided the types of pneumonia symptoms into two. Firstly, systemic symptoms which are characterized by fever, chills, decreased appetite, and body weakness. Secondly, local symptoms are characterized by a cough with phlegm followed by shortness of breath.
“Mothers need to be more vigilant. If, for example, our child starts to have a fever or shortness of breath, we should be wary. Usually, children don’t have a good cough reflex, unlike adults, who normally produce mucus due to microorganisms,” Dr. Valensa said.
Collaboration with BRIN
In supporting pneumonia prevention, Dr Fifin said that the postgraduate school Immunology program had developed several research projects. One of them is collaborating with BRIN in making a pneumonia vaccine.
“Currently, we are collaborating with BRIN to make a pneumonia vaccine from lipopolysaccharide capsules. Simply put, the virus has a covering membrane. We take that membrane to develop a vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ayu as an Immunology lecturer explained that many vaccine products have been developed for different pathogens every year. According to her, existing vaccines may be less effective in fighting the body’s immunity. More strains are needed to be explored in the Master of Immunology program.
Author: Lady Khairunnisa Adiyani
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
