The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations yesterday said it is closely monitoring any large purchases of flu and cough medicines in pharmacies nationwide in the wake of the spread of mycoplasma-induced respiratory illnesses in China.
“We have asked pharmacies across the nation to report to us immediately if they have customers making excessively large purchases of cough and flu medicines,” federation president Huang Jin-shun (黃金舜) told reporters at the sidelines of a press conference in Taipei.
The federation received reports from some pharmacies that there were Taiwanese businesspeople working in China or Chinese spouses married to Taiwanese asking to purchase large amounts of antibiotics, which pharmacies are not allowed to sell if the customers do not have prescriptions, Huang said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
However, cough and flu medicines are over-the-counter drugs and can be purchased without prescriptions, he said.
“We are also concerned that some customers might buy these medicines from Taiwan to give them as gifts to their friends and relatives in China, which is now plagued by respiratory illness caused by mycoplasma and other viruses. Others might want to profit by reselling these medicines at higher prices,” he said.
Taiwanese businesspeople in China have said that Taiwan’s flu and intestinal medicines are five times more expensive in China than in Taiwan, he said.
The respiratory illness outbreak in China this time has created demand for mostly flu and cough medicines, he said.
“It is normal for customers to buy one or two packs, but it would be unusual to ask to buy 10 or 20 packs. If that situation happens, our members need to tell us immediately. We will also report any abnormality to the government,” he added.
A shortage of painkillers and antipyretics was reported in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia when China ended COVID-19 lockdowns at the end of last year, which led to a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases.
Hospitalization rates have recently increased in northern and southern China, with influenza being the main cause, the Centers for Disease Control said, citing data from Chinese health authorities.
Meanwhile, rhinovirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory tract fusion virus, adenovirus, SARS-CoV-2, human interstitial pneumonia virus and common cold coronavirus are cocirculating ahead of the normal epidemic period in China, the centers said, adding that all of these viruses are known viruses.
Neither new pathogens nor special mutations of known pathogens have been detected, Chinese health authorities said.
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