Taipei Veterans General Hospital on Wednesday launched Taiwan’s first dedicated gut microbiota laboratory, in a bid to develop new therapies for people with infections that cause diarrhea.
The laboratory is expected to store at least 100 fecal samples to study gut microbiota, which could contribute to the treatment of Clostridium difficile — a bacteria that is often spread in healthcare facilities — as well as autism, Parkinson’s disease, allergies and diabetes, among others, the hospital said.
Hou Ming-chi (侯明志), director of the hospital’s Medicine Department, told reporters that while Clostridium difficile is found in the gut of about two to three people out of every 1,000, only 2 percent of them develop a Clostridium difficile infection.
Photo: CNA
Symptoms can range from diarrhea to life-threatening sepsis, Hou said.
A Clostridium difficile infection most commonly occurs in people who have received antibiotic treatment for a long time or have used antacids, he said, adding that older people and people who have a weak immune system are more prone to being infected.
People with a Clostridium difficile infection used to be treated with antibiotics, but the recurrence rate was high, Hou said, adding that the overall mortality rate among people hospitalized for Clostridium difficile is as high as 30 percent within 30 days of diagnosis.
Researchers in the US have implanted gut microbiota extracted from a healthy person’s fecal sample into the intestines of people with a Clostridium difficile infection to restore the balance of bacteria.
To ensure the quality of its gut microbiota, the hospital said it only receives fecal samples from people who are under the age of 65, with a body mass index lower than 25 and with no history of diabetes or hepatitis.
A person cannot donate if they have traveled overseas or has used antibiotics within three months, the hospital said.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
RSS