Global Health
Wahyu Agung Pratama – Stories
Biomolecular and Genomic Laboratory Technician, Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
March 26, 2026
At Sulianti Saroso Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Jakarta, laboratory teams routinely process samples from patients who could have an infectious disease. Safely handling these biological samples requires specialized equipment and rigorous procedures designed to stop accidental exposures within the laboratory.
Wahyu is an element of the team behind this work. As a laboratory technician in a hospital molecular laboratory, he helps detect diseases similar to tuberculosis and other emerging infections. This work relies on biosafety cabinets – closed work spaces that control airflow and filtration in order that potentially dangerous pathogens don’t accumulate during testing.
In April 2025, Wahyu participated in a regional training on laboratory biosafety and biosafety cabinet maintenance organized under the Asia-Pacific Regional Initiative for Laboratories (APRIL) supported by the Global Fund. The course focused on the right use of protective equipment, laboratory workflow, and airflow systems in biosafety cabinets that prevent pathogens from entering the encircling environment.
Photo: The Global Fund/Vincent Becker
“I’ve never examined a biosafety cabinet like this before in a lab – looking at air flow, how the system works… how it protects us,” he says.
Since completing his training, Wahyu has been applying these practices within the laboratory and sharing his knowledge with colleagues and students who frequently intern on the hospital.
“We accept new students almost every month, about 10-15 every 6 months,” he says.
Laboratories just like the one at Sulianti Saroso Hospital play a crucial role within the response to infectious diseases in Indonesia. Protecting people on the front lines of disease response and surveillance is the premise for strong biosecurity capabilities: laboratory technicians can safely handle infectious samples, and countries can quickly detect dangerous health threats.