《TAIPEI TIMES》 Spike in pandemic antibiotic use causes pathogens to have 90％ drug resistance

By Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with CNA

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.

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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.

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.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES