News: CDC reports over 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections annually

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria and fungi cause more than 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths per year in the United States, HealthLeaders Media reported. In a 2013 report, the CDC found that at least 23,000 Americans died annually from AR infections.

Since the original report six years ago, prevention efforts have reduced deaths from AR infections by 18% overall and nearly 30% in hospitals. But the increased number of infections in this new report was found by using previously unavailable data sources.

The new report also categorizes the top AR threats based on level of concern: urgent, serious, or concerning, HealthLeaders Media reported.

The CDC plans to take the following actions to deal with antibiotic resistance:

• Make sizable investments in every state in programs such as the AR Lab Network to rapidly detect and help prevent antibiotic-resistant infections.
• Work with federal partners such as CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, as well as data experts and healthcare providers and veterinarians to improve the use of existing antibiotics.
• CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will continue to supply samples of resistant germs from the AR Isolate Bank to drug and diagnostic test developers who can uncover new drugs and treatments.
• Invest millions of dollars finding prevention strategies that can be scaled up across the nation.
• Work with private industry to enhance food-product safety, medical devices, and surveillance capabilities.
• Coordinate with domestic partners to expand the national response and prevention capacity, and with global partners to enhance the ability to combat the growing threat of antibiotic resistance worldwide.

The report’s findings show that prevention efforts are working, but additional research and efforts are needed to contain the growing threat, according to the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in HealthLeaders Media. To read the new CDC report on AR infections, click here. To read the 2013 report, click here.