CDC: drug-resistant germs kill about 50,800 a year
Drug-resistant infections cause about 50,800 US deaths and 9.7 million infections a year, CIDRAP reports from a new CDC threats report. NBC News said more than 50,000 people die yearly from such infections. The CDC warns methods changed, so totals should not be compared directly with 2019.
Drug-resistant germs cause about 9.7 million US infections and 50,800 deaths a year based on 2023 data, CIDRAP reports from the CDC's new Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Report. NBC News said more than 50,000 people in the US die each year from infections that resist treatment. The CDC calls this one of the most urgent public health threats.
The 2019 report put the burden at 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths, CIDRAP noted. CDC officials say data sources and methods changed a lot, so the two reports should not be compared directly. Infections tied to hospitals accounted for more than 42,000 US deaths and more than $12 billion in care costs in the new figures.
Candida auris tops the CDC urgent-threat list. It caused 4,523 US infections in 2023, up tenfold from 2019, and few antifungal drugs still work, CIDRAP reported. Other urgent threats in that account include carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales and drug-resistant gonorrhea. Clostridioides difficile moved from urgent to serious after cases fell 9% from 2018 to 2023.
CDC Director Erica Schwartz said antimicrobial resistance threatens modern medicine and puts millions of Americans at risk each year. Doctors who spoke with CIDRAP said the figures match what they see and that routine surgery needs drugs that still work. For families, the stake is ordinary care: a joint replacement or hospital stay can fail if common drugs stop working.
What we know: The CDC's new threats report, as reported by CIDRAP and NBC News, puts yearly US deaths from drug-resistant infections around 50,000 or higher, with Candida auris listed as an urgent threat.
What we don't: How much of the rise versus the 2019 report is real growth rather than new methods, which the CDC says should not be compared directly.
Sources:
- NBC News — https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-warns-threat-drug-resistant-germs-rcna605831
- CIDRAP — https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobial-stewardship/cdc-report-shows-rise-drug-resistant-infections-deaths-us
Where outlets agree NBC News and CIDRAP report that the CDC's new threats assessment finds on the order of 50,000 US deaths a year from drug-resistant infections and treats the problem as an urgent public health threat.
Where they differ CIDRAP carries the CDC's 9.7 million infections and 50,800 deaths with a caution against comparing reports, while NBC News's available account leads with more than 50,000 deaths a year.