Untreatable: Report by CDC details today’s drug-resistant health threats

From the US Centers for Disease Control 16 September press release 

Landmark report ranks threats, outlines four core actions to halt resistance

Infographic:” National Summary Data on Antibiotic Resistance in the U.S.”
Text Version 

Every year, more than two million people in the United States get infections that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die as a result, according to a new report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The report, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013, presents the first snapshot of the burden and threats posed by antibiotic-resistant germs having the most impact on human health.  The threats are ranked in categories: urgent, serious, and concerning.

Threats were assessed according to seven factors associated with resistant infections: health impact, economic impact, how common the infection is, a 10-year projection of how common it could become, how easily it spreads, availability of effective antibiotics, and barriers to prevention.  Infections classified as urgent threats include carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), drug-resistant gonorrhea, and Clostridium difficile, a serious diarrheal infection usually associated with antibiotic use.  C. difficile causes about 250,000 hospitalizations and at least 14,000 deaths every year in the United States.

“Antibiotic resistance is rising for many different pathogens that are threats to health,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “If we don’t act now, our medicine cabinet will be empty and we won’t have the antibiotics we need to save lives.”

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Four Core Actions to Fight Antibiotic Resistance

1. Preventing Infections, Preventing the Spread of Resistance
2. Tracking Resistance Patterns
3. Improving Use of Today’s Antibiotics (Antibiotic Stewardship)
4. Developing New Antibiotics and Diagnostic Tests

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Read the entire press release here

Related articles

• Antibiotics and the Rise of Superbugs (vision1health.wordpress.com)
• Untreatable infections: CDC sets threat levels for drug-resistant bacteria (cnn.com)