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Health Network: Hepatitis C cluster suspected to be linked to ‘nutrition injections’ as doctor raises clinic infection-control concerns

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Health authorities ordered testing after 11 people were suspected of contracting hepatitis C at a clinic in Banqiao, New Taipei.
  • The cluster may be linked to intravenous “nutrition injections,” while a former cardiologist questioned the injections’ medical value and the clinic’s infection-control practices.
  • Health Ministry officials said the patients’ hepatitis C virus RNA sequences were highly similar, supporting a link to the clinic.

A hepatitis C cluster in Banqiao, New Taipei, has been linked by suspicion to intravenous “nutrition injections” given at a private clinic. Eleven people are suspected of contracting the virus, and Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control has ordered patients who received injections there during a specified period to undergo testing.

Former cardiologist Hsieh An-min said the case exposed hidden weaknesses in Taiwan’s health insurance and medical system. He questioned how many patients the clinic saw each day and how many were encouraged by doctors to receive the injections.

Hsieh said an infusion of 500 to 1,000 cc typically provides only 25 to 50 grams of glucose, or 100 to 200 calories. Water-soluble vitamins, most commonly B vitamins, may leave the body within a day, while other nutrients are quickly metabolized or excreted. In his view, the injections offer little lasting benefit to patients or society, while increasing the clinic’s revenue.

First, do no harm.

· Hippocratic medical principleThe principle is cited to argue that doctors should prioritize treatment benefits over potential risks and side effects.

He invoked the medical principle “First, do no harm,” arguing that doctors should weigh potential risks and side effects against the benefits of any treatment. The 11 patients, he said, may have contracted iatrogenic hepatitis C over a treatment whose necessity and effectiveness were highly debatable.

Hsieh also criticized what he described as an unreasonable demand that patients prove they tested negative for hepatitis C before receiving the injections. Unless blood had been drawn and properly stored before treatment, such proof would be impossible, he said. Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare reported that the patients’ viral RNA sequences were highly similar, which it said supported the conclusion that the infections came from the clinic. Hsieh said the case also raised broader concerns about infection prevention and oversight at private clinics, where intravenous injections remain popular.

Besides making the doctor’s wallet fatter, giving ‘nutrition injections’ at a clinic offers no benefit to patients or society.

· Hsieh An-minThe former cardiologist criticized the medical value of the injections.
About this summary

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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