JAKARTA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- A four-year-old Indonesian boy suffering from severe drug-resistant epilepsy experienced three to five seizures a day. Despite repeated attempts with various anti-seizure medications, doctors struggled to bring his condition under control.
A breakthrough came through genetic testing. Using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) technology provided by China's BGI Genomics and its Indonesian partner PT Naleya Genomik Indonesia (NGI), doctors identified genetic variants associated with neuronal excitability and ion channel function, allowing them to adjust the boy's treatment.
Two months later, his major seizures were completely controlled, and his quality of life had improved significantly.
The case highlights how growing healthcare cooperation between China and Indonesia is making a tangible difference in the lives of local patients.
For many Indonesian families with children suffering from rare diseases, obtaining an accurate diagnosis can be a long and difficult journey. Complex symptoms and limited access to specialized medical services often force patients to visit multiple hospitals and undergo repeated examinations, sometimes taking months or even years to identify the underlying cause.
Lydia Pratanu, a senior clinical geneticist at Indonesia's Harapan Kita Women and Children's Hospital, said specialized diagnostic services remain limited even in Jakarta.
Some children from distant regions, including Papua and Medan, have to fly to Jakarta for medical examinations, placing an additional financial burden on their families and potentially delaying treatment, she said.
In recent years, the introduction of Chinese genetic testing technologies has offered new possibilities for addressing these challenges.
Achmad Rafli, a pediatric neurologist at Indonesia's Cipto Mangunkusumo National Central General Hospital who was involved in treating the boy with epilepsy, said conventional diagnostic methods previously yielded detection rates of only around 5 to 15 percent in certain complex cases.
With the introduction of advanced technologies, the diagnostic yield for complex epilepsy cases at his medical center has risen to approximately 45 to 48 percent.
For some patients, the time required to reach a definitive diagnosis has been shortened from years to just a few weeks.
"These technologies have not only improved diagnostic accuracy and efficiency but also enabled doctors to identify the genetic causes of diseases more precisely, providing a basis for subsequent personalized treatment," Rafli said.
Behind these technological advances lies the steadily deepening healthcare cooperation between China and Indonesia.
In 2024, the two countries agreed on further cooperation in healthcare, infectious disease prevention and control, medical personnel training, and the establishment of more sister-hospital partnerships.
From intergovernmental agreements to clinical practice, the cooperation has produced concrete results.
In 2024, the Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University in China established cooperation with Indonesia's Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital. Chinese medical experts traveled to Indonesia to provide guidance on cardiovascular interventional procedures and help train young Indonesian doctors.
In January this year, Xuzhou Medical University and Indonesia's National Standardization Agency signed a cooperation agreement to jointly establish the China-Indonesia Joint Laboratory for Digital Medicine and Proactive Health.
In July, Indonesia's Ministry of Health announced the unveiling of a prototype quadrivalent dengue mRNA vaccine jointly developed by the University of Indonesia, China's Tsinghua University and an Indonesian biotechnology company, underscoring the potential for bilateral cooperation in medical innovation.
Meanwhile, medical training, technical seminars and joint research projects have helped strengthen Indonesia's local diagnostic capabilities.
Pratanu expressed hope that advanced genetic testing technologies could eventually be made available in more Indonesian cities, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to Jakarta for medical care.
Heru Dharmadi, president director of NGI, said combining China's expertise in technology development and large-scale genetic testing with Indonesia's local clinical needs could help build a more comprehensive healthcare system.
"I hope that in the future, more Indonesian professionals will lead innovation in medical technology, and more families will have access to the healthcare services they need," he said. ■