Team:ITB Indonesia/HumanPractice/IntroductionAflatoxinBiosensor

From 2013.igem.org

Introduction and Discussion About Aflatoxin

This activity was conducted by distributing aflatoxin-related questionnaire to surrounding communities. The responses gathered demonstrated that people's understanding about aflatoxin was so low. Our data showed that 41.3% of ITB students don't know about aflatoxin, 43% don't know what implications aflatoxin brings to human health, and 39% don't know how to prevent and manage these implications.

This was unfortunate since aflatoxin poisoning might cause fatal consequences such as liver cancer. These findings were in accordance with recent data which explains that 58% people in developing countries felt an urge to know about aflatoxin-related issues. We try to address this problem by explaining about aflatoxin and its health effects through small-group discussions, educational videos, and social media promotions. We hope that through these activities, people become more informed and be able to protect themselves from severe implications of aflatoxin poisoning.