Two students from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Brawijaya University (FKH UB), Miftahul Jannah and Jessica Ivana Alexandra Tasumo (Class of 2022), have achieved an outstanding international accomplishment. Under the guidance of Dr. Siti Kurniawati, drh., M.Ked.Trop., they were awarded “Favorite Scientific Article in the Animal Health Category”.
This competition was organized by the Student Executive Board of the Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Nusa Cendana University, and took place in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Friday, 27 October 2024, in a hybrid format.
This competition was part of the Student International Conference, Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, which focused on the theme: “The World’s Silent Pandemic! Global Challenges and Solutions to Antimicrobial Resistance with a ‘One Health’ Approach.” The theme underscored the importance of a One Health approach in addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing global health crisis affecting humans, animals, and the environment.
In their research, Miftahul Jannah and Jessica Ivana Alexandra Tasumo explored Tuberculosis (TB), a major public health challenge worldwide. Indonesia currently ranks third in global TB cases, following India and China. TB is caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), which affects both humans and animals. In cattle, infections are caused by Mycobacterium bovis, a member of MTBC. Additionally, non-TB infections are often linked to the Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) group, including Mycobacterium marinum (M. marinum). M. marinum infections are commonly found in aquatic animals, particularly fish, causing TB-like lesions. Their research, titled: “The eccB5 Gene as a Potential Candidate for the Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium marinum Using In-House Primer Design,” proposes an innovative approach for detecting these bacteria.
“We conducted a study focusing on the eccB5 gene, which is present in both bacteria, as the basis for developing a detection method using a bioinformatics approach,” said Miftahul and Jessica. They utilised computational technology to scan genetic databases and compare DNA sequences. This research is expected to serve as a foundation for further studies aimed at developing a faster and more accurate detection method compared to the conventional culture method, which is time-consuming.
