Kota Kinabalu is the capital of Sabah, located in the region of East Malaysia. Home to a population of 3.4 million people, the Sabah state borders Indonesia, Viet Nam, and the Philippines.
With the emergence of new variants due to the mobility in these neighbouring countries, it is important to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 variants for emergency and laboratory preparedness. Dedicated laboratory equipment is required to analyze genomes, known as whole genome sequencing (WGS) machines.
With WHO’s technical support and the United States of America financial support towards the development of lab sequencing in East Malaysia, the delivery of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and WGS machines took place at the Public Health Laboratory Kota Kinabalu.
Alongside WHO Representative, Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, in attendance were the Sabah Health State Director, Datuk Dr Rose Nani binti Mudin, Mr Michael A. Newbill, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Dr Jiloris Julian Frederick Dony, Director of the Public Health Laboratory of Kota Kinabalu.
“These advancements in laboratory technology and skills will help especially in identifying pathogens and making a timely diagnosis of diseases, that prevent outbreak occurrences,” said Datuk Dr Rose Nani binti Mudin.
Mr Michael A. Newbill emphasized the importance of collaboration to strengthen emergency preparedness, readiness, and response capacities to keep people safe during his opening remarks.
Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe highlighted the importance of strengthening laboratory capacities across the country including in East Malaysia as the country prepares to better respond to future outbreaks and pandemics. He acknowledged the support of the United States to WHO in the COVID-19 response and took the opportunity to thank the people of the United States for supporting preparedness and response capacities in Malaysia and other countries of the Western Pacific through collaborations with WHO.
The handover ceremony for the PCR and WGS machines at the Public Health Laboratory of Kota Kinabalu.
Photo Credit: WHO/Izarra Azuddin
Lab workers carrying out genome sequencing using the WGS machines.
Photo credit: WHO/Izarra Azuddin
In addition to laboratory preparedness, and for optimum use of the WGS machines, staff members from the Public Health Laboratory attended training at the Doherty Institute Australia, with technical support from WHO to enhance their expertise in WGS Bioinformatic on SARS-CoV-2.
The staff members who attended the training are now passing on the knowledge gained to other laboratory staff members.
Bioinformatic training at the Doherty Institute, Australia.
“I feel that our contribution to genome sequencing is beneficial to the public health, not just for COVID-19 but for future pathogens,” said Mr Kamal Hisham, a staff from the Public Health Laboratory when he talks about the value of the training.
He added, “We always aim to provide better healthcare for all, and the support given to us has strengthened our capacities to do so.”
WGS is crucial to monitor the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants to assist in the planning of healthcare measures that can help mitigate the outbreak as well as increase the chance of early detection of harmful and infectious pathogens.
The United States provided grants to support pandemic response and prepare countries, including Malaysia, for future outbreaks.