Virus Hunter to sow interest in young Malaysians to fight future pandemics

GEORGE TOWN – Malaysia hopes to produce its next generation of scientists who will be on the forefront of future pandemics via a public health campaign organised by Penang Science Cluster (PSC) and supported by the United States embassy.

Aptly named Virus Hunter, the programme has set up an educational website where students aged between 10 and 17 can complete a set of activities to earn virus hunter medals; participate in a virtual workshop where they can view a simulation of the vaccine development process; and, a physical exhibition where visitors can learn about viruses, vaccines and pandemics through hands-on activities.

During the launch of the programme today, US ambassador to Malaysia Brian D. McFeeters said the much-anticipated project is a valuable resource for Malaysian youth to learn about infectious diseases, vaccine development and create awareness on potential career paths. 

“Three-quarters of new diseases that have emerged recently had some kind of zoonotic origin. Animal-to-human virus transmissions have been significant.

“To minimise the spread of future pandemics, we need to develop the next generation of skillful and competent workers through robust university and research partnerships.

“Hopefully, we have young students, maybe a 10-year-old in this programme, who will be interested in becoming a university partner in the future,” he said.

With the US’ strong scientific capacities, McFeeters said the country is well suited to lead this important endeavour while striking partnerships with countries like Malaysia, in line with the Biden-Harris administration’s stance on multinational collaborations.

“The focus for Virus Hunter now is, how do we educate our youth and teach them about preventing and mitigating future pandemics? 

“More generally, they can also learn about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

“We hope that young Malaysians can learn about what has been done, and what can be done in the future,” he added.

PSC CEO Ooi Peng Ee, meanwhile, said that Virus Hunter is designed to provide an enriching virtual and digital experience, supplemented by teaching kits delivered to teachers in schools to conduct workshops for their students.

“With such interesting content, I am happy to say that all students in the country will have the opportunity to experience Virus Hunter either digitally or when the physical exhibition tours  various states in Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak.

“We want to inspire innovation and curiosity in our students, and we hope students will begin to ask questions like why, in these current times, do we see more diseases, as, besides Covid-19, we have SARS, MERS and other smaller outbreaks?

“We don’t want our students to be merely consumers of technology. We want them to be the creators. Hopefully, they can help in future vaccine development and pandemic prevention. That is the idea behind Virus Hunter,” he said.

Virus Hunter was originally designed to be a physical, hands-on exhibit, complete with workshops and interactive sessions. 

Once Covid-19 related restrictions are lifted, a physical Virus Hunter exhibition will travel from Penang to Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur, Sabah and Sarawak. 

At each venue, the exhibition will be on display for at least one month. There will also be a series of in-person workshops aimed at local youth audiences.

PSC, which is hosting the US embassy’s American Tech Corner in Penang, is also the lead organiser of the physical exhibition. It will work closely with the four other American Tech Corner arms in Kedah, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak, as well as other partners across Malaysia to execute the programme.

Present at the launch was Special Adviser to the Prime Minister Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood, who stressed the programme’s importance in providing knowledge and information based on science and evidence. 

“We live in a world where information flows freely, and misinformation flows even more freely. 

“Therefore, we need to get the right science and the right evidence to our young.

“With this programme, I hope that all of you will get enough knowledge and a better understanding of how the virus affects us, how it transmits and what might be the ways we can combat this infection and stop its spread.

“At the end of the day, the successful management of this pandemic requires community participation,” she said.

Students interested in participating in the programme can visit its website here. – The Vibes, June 23, 2021