Overuse of antibiotics in livestock is linked to growing drug resistance in humans who consume the agricultural products, said Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), director of the National Health Research Institutes’ National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, who called for more government attention on the matter.
Su made the remarks at an international seminar on infection control held on Saturday in Taipei by the Infection Control Society of Taiwan.
Su said that infection control involves reining in the use of both antibiotics for human use and those for animal use. While the hospitals in the nation have been putting great efforts into infection control, antibiotic use on farms continues to affect human health, because the amount of antibiotics used in agriculture is eight times greater than that for medical use, he said.
Taking Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as an example, which is a bacterium that is resistant to certain antibiotics, Su said that despite some hospitals having done their part for infection control, the resistance rate of MRSA in general is still as high as 70 percent.
According to Centers for Disease Control data, the MRSA resistance rate in the US ranges from 34 percent to 58 percent, while it is 26 percent to 28 percent in the EU and 35 percent to 38 percent in Latin America.
Su lauded Cathay General Hospital’s work in controlling the MRSA resistance rate, which is the lowest in the nation at 50 percent.
The reason the hospital can achieve this relatively better outcome lies in its executive having control over dealing with pharmaceutical companies, who often have special relationships with infectious disease specialists in the country, he said.
Many of the hospitals exhibiting the worst infection control outcomes are in Miaoli, Greater Taichung, Changhua and Greater Tainan, where physicians have close ties with pharmaceutical companies and frequently prescribe last-line antibiotics, Su said. He added that the prescription of last-line antibiotics leads to the emergence of antibiotic resistance, necessitating stronger drugs, resulting in a vicious circle.
Antibiotics used in agriculture contribute to drug resistance in humans as well, he said. For instance, antibiotics in fish increase drug resistance in humans if the fish is cooked and eaten.
Su said that to be well managed and consistent, policy on the use of antibiotics should in the hands of the Executive Yuan.
Hospitals, agriculture sectors and communities must also cooperate for effective infection control, Su added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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