Mycoplasma bacteria in Taiwan is resistant to more than 70 percent of antibiotics, forcing children with medical issues to use second-line drugs, an infectious disease expert said today at a Taipei event kicking off a traveling exhibition on antibiotics.
Although antibiotics have greatly reduced the risk of death from infectious disease, their incorrect use has led to drug-resistant bacteria evolving, leading doctors to warn that Taiwan may face a future without much of the medicine available today, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said in a speech at Taipei Medical University Hospital (TMUH).
Photo: AP
He also called for the responsible use of antibiotics and called drug resistance a “silent pandemic."
As World Antibiotic Awareness Week approaches next month, TMUH, along with the CDC, the Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan and the Infection Control Society of Taiwan, are holding a traveling exhibition on antibiotics hosted on a bus.
Taiwan cannot avoid this issue, as antibiotic resistance is a global problem that results in more medical expenditures, longer hospitalizations and seriously threatens the well-being of patients, Chuang said.
Antibiotic resistance has tripled in the past 10 years and many patients fail to respond to first-line drugs, leading to estimates that by 2035, life expectancy may shorten by 1.8 years, TMUH Adult Infectious Disease Division director Chuang Han-chuan (莊涵琄) said.
Antibiotic resistance has already begun affecting patients outside of clinical trials and hospitals, spreading to outpatient clinics and pediatrician offices, Chuang Han-chuan said.
Taking the recent mycoplasma outbreak as an example, more than 70 to 80 percent of the bacteria were resistant to drugs, forcing doctors to prescribe second-line drugs to children who in the past would have recovered within three days of using first-line antibiotics, she added.
To solve this issue requires the coordination of the pharmaceutical industry, the government, academia and the public, Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan president Wang Fu-te (王復德) said.
Starting from next year, government agencies are to collaborate on issues such as whether wastewater affects antibiotic resistance, he added.
Wang called on the public to use antibiotics properly as he gave examples of how resistance to drugs can increase, such as people sharing their antibiotics with friends, choosing to buy their own medicine or not properly following doctors’ instructions.
After today's event at TMUH, the traveling exhibition is to visit several other hospitals over the next month.
The exhibit features several activities to raise awareness and remind people to follow doctors’ instructions on the use of antibiotics.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS