50% more Americans being infected by antibiotic-resistant superbugs since 2013, CDC report reveals

More Americans are being infected by antibiotic-resistant superbugs than ever before, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals.

Bacteria and fungi that don’t respond to standard antibiotics cause 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths in the US every year, according to the figures, released on Wednesday.

When this includes C. difficile, a bacterium not typically resistant but that can cause life-threatening diarrhea, there are more than three million infections and 48,000 deaths.

This indicates a 50 percent increase in infections since the CDC’s report in 2013, but an 18 percent decrease in overall deaths.

And, even though the agency notes great strides have been made in preventing the spread of germs and infections – especially in healthcare settings – officials say the progress could be lost without more action.

A new CDC report has revealed that 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths are caused by antibiotic-resistant superbugs, meaning there is an increase in infections but fewer deaths since 2013 (file image)

For the new report, the CDC looked at electronic data from 700 hospitals compared to data from 180 hospitals in 2013.

The authors listed 18 germs as threats to antibiotic resistance and split them into three categories: urgent, serious and concerning.

Three germs were listed as ‘urgent’ in 2013: C. difficile; carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), bacteria that cause infections including pneumonia and bloodstream infections; Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a sexually transmitted disease.

The new report adds two new bacteria types to the ‘urgent’ category: Candida auris and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter.

Candida auris is a harmful form of yeast that tends to be diagnosed in patients after they’ve been in hospitals for several weeks.

The source of the infection for C auris isn’t the person who got sick but rather the hospital environment, including catheters, counters and other surfaces.

The fungus can infect wounds and the bloodstream and take root in the urinary tract. One in three people who are infected with C auris die, the CDC says.

Meanwhile, Acinetobacter is another hospital-acquired infection that takes advantage of people with weakened immune systems or altered microbiota.

WHAT IS ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE?

Antibiotics have been doled out unnecessarily by GPs and hospital staff for decades, fueling once harmless bacteria to become superbugs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously warned if nothing is done the world is heading for a ‘post-antibiotic’ era.

It claimed common infections, such as chlamydia, will become killers without immediate solutions to the growing crisis.

Bacteria can become drug resistant when people take incorrect doses of antibiotics or if they are given out unnecessarily.

Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies claimed in 2016 that the threat of antibiotic resistance is as severe as terrorism.

Figures estimate that superbugs will kill 10 million people each year by 2050, with patients succumbing to once harmless bugs.

Around 700,000 people already die yearly due to drug-resistant infections including tuberculosis (TB), HIV and malaria across the world.

Concerns have repeatedly been raised that medicine will be taken back to the ‘dark ages’ if antibiotics are rendered ineffective in the coming years.

In addition to existing drugs becoming less effective, there have only been one or two new antibiotics developed in the last 30 years.

In September, the WHO warned antibiotics are ‘running out’ as a report found a ‘serious lack’ of new drugs in the development pipeline.

Without antibiotics, C-sections, cancer treatments and hip replacements will become incredibly ‘risky’, it was said at the time.

This means that healthy people with normal immune systems will not experience illness if infected with the bacterium

Acinetobacter causes about 7,300 infections every year and about 500 deaths.

The report found that one of the three germs previously classified as ‘urgent’, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, causes more than 500,000 infections per year – twice as many since 2013.

That’s because the infections are resistant to all but one class of antibiotics, increasing the risk of infertility in women and HIV among men.

And infections from resistant group A streptococcus – which causes strep throat and scarlet fever – have quadrupled since the 2013 report to more than 5,000.

‘If resistance continues to grow, infections and deaths could rise,’ the report reads.

Despite many grim figures, there is still some good news.

The report revealed that prevention efforts have helped reduce antibiotic-resistant deaths by 30 percent in hospitals since 2013.

Additionally, infections from CRE, classified a a ‘nightmare bacteria’ have stabilized, after spreading across the US in the early 2000s.

‘Today’s report shows that antibiotic resistance is a larger threat than previously estimated…and this deadly threat is not going anyway,’ Dr Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, said in a call with reporters on Thursday.

‘Antibiotic resistance threatens both our nation’s health and our global security.’

The CDC has issued recommendations on how to reduce the threat of antibiotic resistance including only taking antibiotics when necessary, good hand hygeine, getting vaccinated, following safe sex practices and limiting cross contamination when preparing food.

‘This report should raise the alarm for everyone concerned about protecting and improving health against infectious diseases. While its focus is on the United States, the findings will echo around the world,’ said Dr Tim Jinks, Head of Wellcome’s Drug-Resistant Infections Programme.

‘The rapid spread of these dangerous infections is happening now and is causing problems for doctors and patients every day and in every country. Greater action across the world is vital if we are to protect people and save and improve patient’s lives

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