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A new CDC report identifies 19 bacteria and fungi that are threats to human health\u2014and highlights four of them as \u201curgent threats.\u201dThe list included drug-resistant pathogens that are hard to treat.There are a few things people can do to lower their risk, according to doctors. <\/p>\n
When you get sick, you probably rely on the fact that you can easily pop a pill or other kind of drug to get better. But a disturbing new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that\u2019s not always the case: Pathogens that can\u2019t be treated with antimicrobial medications lead to more than 50,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to the report.<\/p>\n
These bacteria and fungi cause 9.7 million infections each year, according to the CDC\u2019s new Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Report<\/a>. The report calls out 19 different drug-resistant bacteria and fungal infections as threats to human health, classifying them into categories ranging from \u201cconcerning threats\u201d all the way up to \u201curgent threats.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s been seven years since this report was released, and the recent data suggest things aren\u2019t moving in a positive direction. When the report was last released in 2019<\/a>, there were 2.8 million confirmed infections due to drug-resistant pathogens. (The CDC does note that data sources and methodologies have changed, making it hard to directly compare the two.)<\/p>\n Still, the reminder that there are infections out there that are resistant to treatment is an important one. While many of the bacteria and fungi listed on the report are ones most people have never heard of, it also does include pathogens that people can encounter in everyday life\u2014making this news important to stay on top of, according to Thomas Russo, M.D.,<\/a> professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. Here\u2019s what infectious disease physicians want you to know.<\/p>\n Meet the experts: Thomas Russo, M.D.,<\/a> professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York; Amesh A. Adalja, M.D<\/a>., a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.<\/p>\n Which pathogens are on the CDC\u2019s list?<\/p>\n The list<\/a> ranks threats as \u201curgent,\u201d \u201cserious,\u201d and \u201cconcerning.\u201d (It also includes a \u201cwatch list\u201d too, for pathogens that are currently being monitored.) Here\u2019s a breakdown of the ones that reached \u201cthreat\u201d level:<\/p>\n Urgent threats<\/p>\n According to the report, these are \u201cpublic health threats that require urgent and aggressive action.\u201d<\/p>\n Candida auris (C. auris). This fungus most commonly spreads in healthcare spaces like hospitals and long-term care facilities, Dr. Russo says. It spreads through direct contact with an infected person or contaminated surface, per the CDC<\/a>. While healthy folks who come into contact with C. auris can usually fight off the fungi, people with weakened immune systems are at risk of life-threatening infections. It\u2019s also growing quickly: Cases grew by more than 50% from 2022 to 2023, according to the CDC.Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE). This class of bacteria is resistant to most antibiotics, including the most powerful, broad-spectrum antibiotics called carbapenems. (When E. coli becomes resistant to this drug, it\u2019s considered a CRE). It\u2019s usually acquired in hospitals or doctors\u2019 offices and is spread through contact with contaminated hands, feces, wounds, or medical equipment, per the CDC<\/a>. Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter. These are also resistant to carbapenem antibiotics. Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter can lead to infections in nearly any place in the body, according to the CDC<\/a>. It\u2019s commonly transmitted in healthcare settings through contaminated surfaces. Still, nearly two-thirds of infections in 2023 were spread through the community, per the CDC. Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae. This bacterium causes the STI<\/a> gonorrhea, which is one of the most common STIs in the U.S. When it\u2019s left untreated, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility, per the CDC<\/a>. Gonorrhea is treated with antibiotics, but the high number of infections has allowed drug-resistant strains to flourish. Serious threats<\/p>\n These require \u201cprompt and sustained action,\u201d per the CDC:<\/p>\n Add Prevention as a preferred source in your Google search results.<\/p>\n Use your Google account to add this to your settings.<\/p>\n Add to Google settings<\/p>\n Concerning threats<\/p>\n These pathogens require \u201ccareful monitoring and prevention action,\u201d according to the report:<\/p>\n What\u2019s driving the growth of antimicrobial-resistant infections?<\/p>\n A lot is due to overuse of antibiotics or misuse of them, according to Dr. Russo. That\u2019s given rise to so-called \u201csuperbugs,\u201d which are drug-resistant pathogens.<\/p>\n \u201cAntimicrobials are very important for our health and longevity,\u201d Dr. Russo says. \u201cWe need to use that resource judiciously.\u201d But these medications are often being improperly used and overprescribed by physicians, he says. And patients tend to assume they\u2019ll be part of the plan, too: According to a 2024 study <\/a>published in the journal Healthcare, 81% of general practitioners surveyed said patients typically expect antibiotics for their symptoms. \u201cBoth physicians and patients need to be judicious about the use of these antibiotics,\u201d Dr. Russo says.<\/p>\n On top of that, Dr. Russo points out that many pharmaceutical companies aren\u2019t putting resources into developing new antimicrobial medications to treat these drug-resistant infections. \u201cBig pharma has largely gotten out of antimicrobial drugs, because the profit margin is lower,\u201d he says. \u201cThese are not lifelong medications.\u201d<\/p>\n What does this mean for the average healthy person?<\/p>\n Many of these infections are more common in seriously ill people who are hospitalized, but doctors say some of the pathogens included on the list are concerning for everyone else, too.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people at highest risk are on ventilators, have catheters or central lines, or are on chemotherapy or have had transplants,\u201d Dr. Adalja says. That\u2019s because they\u2019re more susceptible to infections overall, either because of weakened immune systems or because their medical devices allow easier entry for the bugs. \u201cFor a healthy person, the risk from CRE, Acinetobacter, or C. auris is low unless you or a family member is hospitalized or in long-term care. [But] several threats on the list don\u2019t need a hospital such as gonorrhea, salmonella, shigella, campylobacter, and MRSA.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Russo agrees. \u201cSome of these have broad implications for healthy people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Dr. Adalja recommends taking these steps to protect yourself and others from antimicrobial infections:<\/p>\n Only use antibiotics when needed. Ask your provider if you really need the meds to get better from whatever you\u2019re sick with\u2014and remember that antibiotics can\u2019t treat illnesses caused by viruses, such as the common cold, COVID, or the flu<\/a>. Get vaccinated against pneumococcus and influenza (and meningococcus when recommended). Preventing getting sick also prevents the antibiotics that would follow to treat the illness, or, in cases of viral illnesses, from the secondary bacterial infections that they could trigger. Cook poultry and eggs thoroughly to prevent foodborne illness. Wash your hands while preparing them, too.Use condoms and get tested for STIs. \u201cGonorrhea is the urgent threat most people can do something about,\u201d Dr. Adalja says.Ask questions in the hospital. \u201cIf you or a family member is hospitalized, it\u2019s fine to ask staff whether they\u2019ve cleaned their hands, and whether a catheter or line is still needed,\u201d Dr. Adalja says.Advocate for the PASTEUR Act<\/a> to become law. \u201cThis creates a Netflix subscription model for antibiotics that will incentivize new antibiotic development and foster better antibiotic stewardship,\u201d Dr. Adalja says. If this act becomes law, the government will pay pharmaceutical companies fixed amounts each year for access to necessary antimicrobials, regardless of how many are prescribed or taken. <\/p>\n \u201cBacteria will always evolve,\u201d Dr. Adalja says. \u201cHow fast they outrun our drugs depends largely on how carelessly we use them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"5 min read Key Points A new CDC report identifies 19 bacteria and fungi that are threats to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[163,85,214545,46],"class_list":["post-661731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-il","tag-impressions","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Google\"](\"https:\/\/www.prevention.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/social\/google.1467f37.svg\")
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