Taiwanese exhibit 90 percent resistance to antibiotics, which if left unchecked could lead to the death of one in every 50 people by 2050, Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine chairman Wang Hao-chien (王鶴健) said yesterday.
Wang said the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) monitoring report in the first quarter of this year showed that certain pathogens demonstrated a 90 percent drug resistance.
US health authorities in June noted that increased use of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to pathogens developing antibiotic resistance, while the World Health Assembly last month said that antimicrobial resistance is a threat to patient health.
Photo: CNA
People with COVID-19 are under greater threat as some pathogens have a 90 percent antibody resistance, and it is more difficult for doctors to treat them, Wang said.
Research shows that people with COVID-19 infected by pathogens that demonstrate high antibody resistance can prolong hospitalization three to five times, Wang said.
The Klebsiella pneumoniae bacterium has been responsible for pneumonia and sepsis among patients hospitalized this year, and has an increased antibody resistance, Wang said, adding that the bacteria is found in one in every five patients hospitalized for infections with complications of sepsis.
National Taiwan University Center for Infection Control director Chen Yi-Chun (陳宜君) said that bacteria do not cause all infections, and that using antibiotics to treat viruses is ineffective.
Antibiotics are not a panacea and are a small portion of antimicrobial agents, and different medicine should be used to treat different kinds of infections, CDC Director-General Chou Chih-hao (周志浩) said.
New antibiotics have not been developed in more than 35 years, and the government is trying to provide better medication and treatment, he said.
Individuals should not ask doctors or clinics for over-the-counter antibiotics, take antibiotics offered by others and, if prescribed antibiotics by doctors, they should not end the course of medicine prematurely, Chou said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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