Facts
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an updated report on drug-resistant germs on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Most figures in it are estimates.
- The CDC estimates drug-resistant bacteria and fungi cause about 9.7 million infections and 50,800 deaths a year in the United States, ABC News reported.
- Four germs are rated “urgent” threats: Candida auris, drug-resistant gonorrhea, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter.
- Drug-resistant Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) is newly classified as a “serious” threat. C. diff was downgraded from “urgent” to “serious.” The CDC is also monitoring six germs on a watch list whose full impact is not yet known.
- Candida auris cases rose more than 50% from 2022 to 2023.
- There were an estimated 787,000 drug-resistant gonorrhea infections in 2023.
- Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales caused an estimated 14,878 infections in hospitalized patients and 1,252 deaths in 2023.
- C. diff caused an estimated 412,504 infections in 2023. Infection rates fell 21% from 2018 to 2020 and have been stable since.
- Infections commonly acquired in health care settings cost nearly $12 billion in 2023, according to the report as described by ABC News.
- The CDC attributes some antifungal resistance to misuse of over-the-counter antifungal creams and steroid-antifungal combinations.
Quotes
CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz said: “Antimicrobial resistance threatens modern medicine and puts millions of Americans at risk every year.”
Dr. Johanna Daily, a professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology at Montefiore-Einstein who was not involved in the report, described resistance as an ongoing “arms race” that began with penicillin, as bacteria become resistant and antibiotics are then modified.
Source Read the CDC’s antimicrobial resistance threats page here.
Image Candida-auris 2016-250px, public domain.
