Antibiotic-resistant infections are deadlier than before. Here are 5 things to know
Antibiotic-resistant infections are a bigger threat than previously thought, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, was released Wednesday and shows that antibiotic resistant infections are more deadly than reported in 2013, according to a news release from the CDC.
Although there are efforts to reduce the number of infections and deaths, the numbers are still too high, and more needs to be done, the CDC says.
Here’s what you need to know:
How do bacteria and fungi become resistant to antibiotics?
Antibiotics are used to kill germs that cause infections.
But these germs can learn how to survive the antibiotics designed to kill them and can develop defense mechanisms that make them resistant, according to the report.
These germs can then multiply and pass their resistance to other germs, allowing them to spread.
Germs become resistant to antibiotics faster when they are constantly present in someone’s body, the report says.
“This is why antibiotics for medical care, animal health, and agriculture should be used only when necessary and only for appropriate durations,” the report says.
How bad is it?
Antibiotic-resistant infections are deadlier than expected, the CDC report found.
Fungi and bacteria that are antibiotic resistant cause 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths in the United States every year, according to the release.
That’s almost twice as many deaths than reported in 2013, the release says.
On average, a person in the United States gets an antibiotic-resistant infection every 11 seconds and someone dies from one every 15 minutes, the release says.
What are the biggest threats?
There are five germs that are considered “urgent threats” that require “aggressive action,” according to the report.
- Acinetobacter bacteria cause pneumonia and infections in wounds, the bloodstream and urinary tract, typically in patients in intensive care. Some of these bacteria are resistant to nearly all antibiotics.
Candida auris fungus can cause outbreaks in health care facilities and is often multi-drug resistant, with some strains that are resistant to all antifungal medicines.
Clostridioides difficile bacteria can cause “life-threatening diarrhea,” is most common in people who have taken antibiotics for other conditions and is “the most common health care-associated infection.”
Enterobacteriaceae bacteria are a major concern in health care facilities, especially for patients who need devices such as catheters. Some of these bacteria are resistant to all antibiotics.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae cause the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, which has developed a resistance to every class of antibiotics but one.
Who is at risk?
Everyone is at risk of antibiotic resistance, and it can affect people of all ages, according to the report.
However, people with weakened immune systems or who are “receiving health care” are more susceptible to getting infections, the report says.
Cancer therapy, joint replacements, organ transplants and other such procedures carry a “significant risk of infection,” the report says.
These procedures are threatened by antibiotic resistance because they can’t be performed if “effective antibiotics aren’t available,” the report says.
But it’s not just a United States issue, it’s a global issue, the report says.
“New forms of resistance emerge and can spread with remarkable speed between continents through people, goods, and animals,” the report says.
What’s being done?
The CDC is leading the country’s effort to combat the problem, the report says.
Their Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative is invested in detecting, responding, containing and preventing the spread of antibiotic resistance, according to the report.
“This includes sounding the alarm, and providing the data for action, technical expertise, and support for a domestic infrastructure to respond to antibiotic resistance,” the report says.
Prevention efforts are working to reduce the number of infections and deaths, but the CDC is still concerned about “rising resistant infections in the community,” which threatens the progress made if more action is not taken, the release says.
Government agencies are also fighting back against the threat through tracking and data, prevention and containment of infections and improving antibiotic use among other things, the report says.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 2:40 PM.
