Infectious disease experts yesterday raised caution about antibiotic resistance, saying that a bacteria partially responsible for a surge in respiratory illness in China is 60 percent resistant to antibiotics in Taiwan.
On Wednesday, the WHO officially asked China to provide detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses.
Chinese authorities attributed the increase to circulation of known pathogens such as influenza, Mycoplasma pneumoniae — a common bacterial infection that typically affects younger children — respiratory syncytial virus and the virus that causes COVID-19, the WHO said.
Photo: CNA
Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan president Wang Fu-te (王復德) told an event in Taipei that Mycoplasma pneumoniae is an oft-seen infection in Taiwan that occurs year-round.
Zithromax, the antibiotic brand used to treat the infection, is already seeing 60 percent drug resistance in Taiwan, he said.
Hospitals have invested much in personnel and drug costs to combat cancer or in other situations such as surgeries or organ transplants, but drug resistance could reduce the effectiveness of such efforts, he said.
Wang called on the government and academia to jointly work on resolving the issue, suggesting drug management for animals and plants and broader public awareness.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said that recent monitoring has shown that drug resistance for the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has dropped, while drug resistances for the Gram-negative bacteria-induced infections have increased.
Lo said these conditions have limited doctors’ ability to prescribe medication, adding that if bacteria develop multiple or broad drug resistance and limit effective drugs to one or two kinds, the day when no antibacterial is available might come soon.
He said the government is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on a five-year antibacterial agent management plan.
Starting in 2025, the government is to begin limiting the use of antibacterial drugs on multiple fronts and launch a campaign to spread awareness of how misuse of antibacterial drugs could build bacterial drug resistance among the public, Lo said.
National Health Insurance Administration Deputy Director-General Lee Cheng-hua (李丞華) said the government urged doctors to provide feedback on drug usage so that plans and restrictions could be implemented to scale back the ease of obtaining antibacterial drugs.
Additional reporting by Reuters
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to