Bacteria 60% resistant to Zithromax, other drugs

INFECTIOUS DISEASE:
A strain of common bacteria creating a respiratory illness surge in China is already stronger than a common medication, health experts said

• By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA

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.

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