Covid-19 outbreak situation As a result, the health system around the world, including Thailand. Must prepare a plan to deal with emerging diseases. around and considering the possibility of various cases in the future, which may have other epidemics
long term preparation by laying out some guidelines for preparing to cope with the epidemic in the future is to push “RESEARCH” (RESEARCH) and produce researchers, especially in emerging disease groups. It is one of the important tasks in preparing for future epidemics.
Prof. Dr. Prasit produces printing Acting Deputy DirectorNational Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Research and Development Administration Division Supervisory agency of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation One of the agencies responsible for the development of science and technology capabilities. by carrying out technology transfer activities personnel development And produce researchers in various fields, said that although the current situation of producing researchers in emerging diseases is not a concern, but in the future there are still many limitations to be taken into account.
“At present, there are many researchers in Thailand. especially when compared to neighboring countries And although most Thai universities are ranked poorly compared to the rest of the world. But in the field of infectious diseases or microorganisms, we are in the Top 100, meaning infectious diseases. Thai researchers do better than the national average. But if you ask if it’s enough, you have to say that it can still be improved.”
Deputy Director of NSTDA, Research and Development Administration, said that the traditional research production system using a method that mainly relies on a number of adult teachers Each teacher will receive a student. There will be hundreds of researchers who can work at all. however There are two problems with this traditional model of producing researchers. First, most of the expert teachers are over or nearly 70 years old, while researchers and the next generation are still very young. which is a problem in the field of teachers The other problem is the learners. That is, there is no one interested in studying research.
“This era is an era where students rarely come to study. which is the same in every branch not because of this branch in all science Students are not very interested in studying for a Ph.D. The reason, if to say it more strongly, is that the older generation or the government can’t keep their promises. is that we have not become a country that uses science in the economy. In addition, the study of emerging disease research has another problem. Children who study are at risk. Learners have the potential to die during the course from the pathogens they are researching. This fact must be accepted. that is a big problem That makes people who are ready to study are very few. Turn to something simpler and more economically beneficial. At present, it will be about cell cancer treatment. or turn to artificial intelligence Which looks like there will be more work to support it.”
But even though there are some people who come to study in the research field. but for infectious diseases Emerging diseases are almost nonexistent. Prof. Dr. Prasit explained that it was because research in infectious diseases could not generate income. Unlike other fields such as cancer, students choose the field they think is the best investment.
“So a lot of smart kids have turned to cancer education. And in infectious diseases, there is one line in the genome branch. Which is a relatively modern line with a lot of information and computers. This line has some children to study. The problem is that people who study in this line alone can’t deal with emerging diseases. because of emerging diseases need someone to collect the infection need a cultivator Have to work in a level 3 bio-vault, so there will be tedious tasks. and there will be no large wages other than the university and the Ministry of Health. There are only a handful of them and it’s not an interesting position.”
Prof. Dr. Prasit stated that planning to produce researchers in this field in the future It is imperative to take action and preparation in several areas at the same time. There are probably a few things to attract students to this field, such as the infrastructure for dealing with emerging diseases. It must be sufficiently prepared and maintained. Because these infrastructures It will be a workplace for new graduates. These infrastructures include Level 3 biosafety laboratories, vaccine development laboratories, and labs. Laboratory for testing kit development, drug development, etc.
“If we can maintain this There will be a place for people to come to work. When an emerging disease occurs, there will be workers who are ready to deal with it. The second one is that there must be supportive activities. Funds must be provided for research. During the past 20 years, NSTDA has been the main agency in this regard. Each year has a budget of hundreds of millions. To encourage teachers to work, now NSTDA has changed roles. Not quite sure who will be the next agency to do this. In fact, no agency has declared itself to be the main sponsor of emerging disease. Even though there should be an agency that declares its intention that we will continue to support research on emerging diseases in the future, this is very necessary.”
Prof. Dr. Prasit said about personnel dealing with problems in the future. For Thailand at the moment it is still enough. But for microbiology researchers, it’s like going to war. There must be a goal of how many times to deal with this war. For example, if the Covid-19 is spreading, smallpox is coming. Is there enough manpower to do 2 things at the same time? Must aim to at least have enough to deal with 2 issues, namely, there is a first batch of personnel to do Covid-19 and there are still people left in the second set in case for smallpox in various areas, so the number of people should be in the hundreds. which currently still exists But there is only concern that If no one cares Or that people don’t put enough effort into it. The number may gradually decrease.
Prof. Prasit’s concerns about the number of researchers come from past experiences. bird flu epidemic At that time, Thailand had only one expert on this subject. Repeatedly addicted to other missions
“At that time, we had about half of the country’s experts on avian influenza, Ajarn Prasert Thongcharoen, who was already very senior. and not doing a lab And had to do many other things. At that time, we didn’t have any personnel. Go ask your teacher, you’re welcome. The teacher asked if there was a budget for them, and at that time I was in NSTDA, and told the teacher to write a project. Then I will provide a budget. We created a system by asking teachers to form a network. And then give support and the country wants, asks each teacher to help. Which those teachers are generous to help work, therefore, these matters need someone to manage. If there is no management in the middle, each person will be confused and do not know what they should do.”
Why is having a large number of researchers necessary? Prof. Dr. Prasit explained that The hardest problem with research is that there are a number of jobs that are extremely tedious. Students do not want to It is a job that many teachers can’t find a replacement for. Must be cultured, which must be monitored daily to see if the infection has grown or not. There is no new technology at all, just the old and the old. But it is very important.
“In the past, I tried to tell new students or researchers. that some basic tasks are very important. If you don’t know, it can’t be done. Some basic tasks are inevitable. Researchers are not as cool as they are in science fiction movies. Well, it’s cool when you get some news. But the work is really boring. will be very boring.”
During the past 10 years, Thailand has produced approximately 10 researchers a year, but Prof. Dr. Prasit is not sure what the current production numbers are. Because in the part of emerging diseases, it should be assessed in terms of how many emerging diseases can be managed. For example, at least 2 viral diseases or 1 bacterial disease, and there must be a sub-team. for Thailand For our part, these teams are primarily on campus. The main team that visited the area was Chulalongkorn University’s team. Mahidol University’s team will settle in the lab. mainly helping the Ministry of Public Health.”
Acting deputy director of the NSTDA also looked at The government needs to be clear. To increase the role of researchers and planning work in this field.
” In fact, we’ve talked to the Department of Disease Control and I’m a little confused, which is that every country in the world, the Department of Disease Control, will have their own laboratory. There are employees who are microbiologists who take care of emerging diseases themselves in every country, including China and the United States. but Thailand does not have is according to the structure Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, the laboratory must be in the Department of Science, that is, you get a sample. I have to send to the science lab. The Department of Science will do it or not do it. The Department of Disease Control will not be able to force him. The Department of Disease Control has to rely on the university.”
Compared to the current situation after the Covid-19 crisis, compared to 20 years ago, which faced bird flu. Prof. Dr. Prasit sees that the past 20 years have improved greatly.
“The first day that the bird flu epidemic, we almost didn’t have personnel. But nowadays, there are many more personnel. everyone cooperate But before we did the vaccine and didn’t see any signs of how to do it, let’s start with But now we can do it. Now we can start making our own vaccines. In the next few years it should be a success which is a lot of advancement, so I think if we continue to develop it will be even better.”
Although the overall manpower in the area of eliminating emerging diseases is better than the past But the future situation has increased risks. which Prof. Dr. Prasit considers The outbreak would be a real problem. is the flu This will have a cycle of about 20-40 years once and then every time it reborn. It will follow from the teachers who have experienced during that time how in the past how they dealt with each other. But ever since the bird flu began to change. Emerging diseases occur frequently, including SARS, MERS, Ebola and Covid-19. The cycle of emerging diseases moves up to every 4-5 years if our people are tight and accurate. We won’t be too chaotic.
“If our people are able to tell the government that this disease is coming and we have support personnel, don’t worry. We can deal with the chaos,” concluded Prof. Dr. Prasit.