Taipei: Antibiotic resistance has become a serious public health issue in Taiwan at a time when the country could soon face the possibility of running out of effective antibiotics to treat infections, infectious disease experts said Saturday.
According to Focus Taiwan, Wang Fu-der, president of the Infection Control Society of Taiwan, emphasized the global impact of antibiotic resistance, highlighting its significance not only internationally but also within Taiwan. Speaking at a press conference in Taipei, Wang stressed the urgent need for the development of more antibiotic drugs domestically or for the domestic healthcare system to consider paying higher prices to attract foreign pharmaceutical companies to introduce advanced antibiotics in Taiwan.
Though Wang was unable to provide specific figures related to the current or imminent threat posed by antibiotic resistance, he referenced studies suggesting that the phenomenon could result in up to 33,000 deaths and economic losses amounting to NT 300 billion (US 10 billion) in Taiwan by the year 2050.