By Chen Chien-chih and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerA 66-year-old man in Taichung nearly died after drinking raw blood from deer and softshell turtles, Chen Hung-chih (陳虹志), a nephrologist at Asia University Hospital, said on Thursday. The patient, surnamed Chu (朱), was showing signs of septic shock, as well as multiple organ failure, when he arrived at the hospital, Chen said. After Chu’s condition stabilized, his family told Chen that he had been hanging out with friends and that the group had drunk raw deer and softshell turtle blood, adhering to a traditional belief that doing so would make them stronger and more virile. While Chu’s friends also showed signs of fever, they did not suffer as severely as Chu, perhaps because they had laced their raw blood with kaoliang liquor, Chen said. Chen said that the antibiotic-resistant strain of E coli had probably entered Chu’s body and developed into bacteremia, causing septic shock.

Source: Taipei Times May 25, 2019 15:56 UTC