Having a runny nose? Avoid antibiotics, or we could pay a deadly price

With the rise of superbugs, the impact of drug resistance is becoming more serious. One woman tells Talking Point how it left her blind and "like a child".

It started with a fever. To fight off the infection, Madam Siti Hajar had to rely on antibiotics, as her immune system was weak owing to her diabetes.

But even when she returned to work, she did not feel any better. In fact, her vision began to be affected. So the next day, she went to Changi General Hospital’s accident and emergency department.

“I only remember going to hospital and then registering and seeing the nurse, and from there, I can’t remember anything else,” she told the Mediacorp programme Talking Point. (Watch the episode here.)

After admission, she was diagnosed with a strain of klebsiella pneumoniae that was resistant to multiple antibiotics. That bacterial infection in 2016 left her blind and in embattled health as it spread to her other organs.

Since their discovery, antibiotics have been wonder drugs for millions of patients in the fight against diseases. But they could not help Mdm Siti, 45, who is now living with the effects of a superbug infection.