Taipei City officials released a report yesterday on the cause of a case of suspected food poisoning last month at a care center run by the Genesis Social Welfare Found-ation (
The officials said there was no evidence showing nutritional supplements were contaminated as had been claimed by some, adding that the cause "may have been" improper feeding by caregivers.
But staffers at the foundation said they were not convinced by the report, which they said was not conclusive as it predicated much of its finding with the word "probably."
Yeh Chin-chuan (
Based on related medical examinations on samples of the patients' vomit, feeding tubes, and a nutritional supplement given to the patients called Impact with Fiber (
"There is no evidence showing that this is a case of food poisoning," Yeh said.
The incident took place on Feb. 15 when 12 brain-dead and comatose patients were found with symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and fever after being tube-fed with the diet supplement donated by Novartis Taiwan Co Ltd.
Although the patients were later sent to several municipal hospitals, two of them -- Huang Li-hua (
Judging from the patients' symptoms and related epidemiological studies, Yeh said the tragedy was probably due to the sudden change in the diet of the patients.
He said as brain-dead and comatose patients are constantly in a low metabolic state, to suddenly feed them a different food -- which is highly-nutritious and is more readily absorbed by the body -- without diluting it may have lead to their subsequent diarrhea.
Caretakers' handling of the primary symptom of diarrhea by either failing to supply patients with additional water or giving them an antidiarreal medication such as Imodium probably worsened the situation, he added.
But staffers at the foundation said the report was not convincing. "The results are not compelling when `probably' is the best they can do to find the cause of the death of a human life," said Kuo Hui-ming (郭慧明), vice secretary-general of the foundation.
Kuo also said nurses at the center did supply water to patients with diarrhea, and their offering of Imodium to these patients was a move that followed doctors' instructions. Kuo said the foundation is willing to accept criticism if officials can present positive evidence to show that the foundation was responsible.
The foundation set up a care center for low-income brain-dead and comatose patients in 1986. So far, about 400 patients have received services at the foundation's nine care centers in Taiwan.
About 100 patients are currently under the shelter of the foundation's centers, Kuo said.
John Ma, the head of Medical Nutrition at the Novartis Taiwan Co Ltd, said in a press release that the nutritional diet is with an "osmolality status [rate of absorption] considered suitable for tube-fed patients."
But Yeh said the instructions included with the product is not as clear as it should be, adding that the bureau has urged the Department of Health to consider requiring that the instructions be rewritten.
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
RSS