TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A sixth death has been confirmed in the food poisoning outbreak at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, with a 46-year-old female patient passing away at Wanfang Hospital (萬芳醫院) Tuesday (June 11) afternoon.
The Taipei City Department of Health confirmed the death, marking an escalation in the severity of the incident that has gripped the city.
Chen Yen-yuan (陳彥元), the Taipei City Health Department head, detailed the patient's rapid decline. Her condition worsened Monday night, leading to severe respiratory distress that necessitated her return to the intensive care unit.
Despite efforts to stabilize her, including an emergency procedure to remove the upper lobe of her left lung and the use of an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine, she succumbed to her illness Tuesday afternoon.
Chen further explained that the patient developed symptoms, including coughing up blood, and "after discussions with her family, we proceeded with the emergency surgery. Unfortunately, her condition did not improve, leading to her death."