Superbugs cause an estimated 9.7 million infections and 50,800 deaths in the United States each year. Those figures come from a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that names 19 drug-resistant germs as threats, The Washington Post reports.
Superbugs are bacteria and fungi that have learned to survive the drugs designed to kill them. Their infections can be tough, and sometimes impossible, to treat, the CDC says.
The new totals are higher than in the CDC’s 2019 superbug report, although the agency says some of the change reflects new measurement methods.
Germs picked up in hospitals and other medical settings cause more than 42,000 yearly deaths and add nearly $12 billion in healthcare costs.
“Antimicrobial resistance threatens modern medicine and puts millions of Americans at risk every year,” CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz said in a statement.
The CDC ranks four germs as urgent threats:
Carbapenems are powerful antibiotics that doctors often save for when nothing else works.
Another 13 germs pose serious threats; two are concerning, and six more are on a watch list.
Dr. Helen Chu, an infectious disease physician at the University of Washington in Seattle, has seen more severe infections among her hospitalized patients, including gonorrhea and necrotizing fasciitis, a tissue-destroying infection.
“We saw an uptick of these cases in the last few years, the ‘flesh-eating bacteria’ that we worry about,” Chu told The Post.
The report contained one bit of good news: Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff bacteria, was listed as an “urgent” threat in 2019 but has been dropped to “serious.” The CDC says better diagnosis and more effective infection prevention in hospitals and other healthcare settings drove the improvement.
But the superbug threat remains dire. These germs can put routine care — such as chemotherapy, organ transplants and joint replacements — at risk because protocols rely on antibiotics, Dr. Wendy Armstrong, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, told The Post.
The CDC’s identification of these superbugs highlights the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance across both acute and long-term care settings. For clinicians, the findings underscore the importance of timely pathogen identification, adherence to infection prevention protocols, and judicious antibiotic prescribing.
Early recognition of patients with a heightened risk of multidrug-resistant infections, particularly those with frequent healthcare exposure, who are immunocompromised, or who use invasive devices, may help reduce transmission and improve outcomes. The report also reinforces the role of antimicrobial stewardship programs in preserving the effectiveness of existing therapies while helping curb the emergence of new resistant strains.
More information
Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more information about preventing antimicrobial resistance.
SOURCES: The Washington Post, Oct. 27, 2026; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 22, 2024
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