Drug-resistant germs cause an estimated 9.8 million infections and approximately 50,800 deaths in the US each year, according to a new CDC report that said the rapid spread of “resistance genes” is making infections harder to treat and more deadly.
The Antibiotic Resistance threat report, which assesses the impact of drug-resistant bacteria, fungi and C. diff, was released Tuesday. The comprehensive report said a total of 19 germs cause 9.8 million infections and approximately 50,800 deaths in the US each year. Infections commonly associated with health care accounted for more than 42,000 of those deaths, the CDC said.
The CDC’s latest threat report comes eight years after its most recent one. At that time, the CDC said more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year, with more than 35,000 people dying as a result.
Overall, the 2026 report categorized 19 pathogens or germs — which include parasites, virus or fungi or bacteria — by their threat level to people in the US. Four of the threats are marked as “urgent,” 13 are marked as “serious” and two are marked as “concerning.”
It also includes a watch list of six additional pathogens currently being monitored for their potential to become future threats to public health.
“Antimicrobial resistance threatens modern medicine and puts millions of Americans at risk every year,” CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz said in a release announcing the report. “This data shows both the progress we’ve made and the significant work that remains.”
One of the threats, C. diff, which can cause serious and sometimes deadly diarrhea, was downgraded from an “urgent” threat to a “serious” threat after a decline in rates. Other threats rose, the CDC said, including C. auris, a type of yeast infection that can spread in healthcare facilities.
According to the CDC, C. auris cases, which can cause severe illness, have increased “tenfold” since 2019.
“Some strains resist all three available classes of antifungal treatment,” the CDC said of the drug-resistant fungus.
The report also classified Neisseria meningitidis, a bacterium that can cause life-threatening cases of meningitis, as a new serious threat, with drug-resistant infections found in community settings.
Health officials said the “rapid spread of resistance genes” was making infections harder to treat and more deadly. One of those includes the rise of a dangerous germ known as NDM-CRE, which is part of a group of bacteria resistant to “nearly all available antibiotics.”
A report from the CDC in 2025 said NDM-CRE infections surged by more than 460% in the US between 2019 and 2023.
“These infections —including pneumonia, bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, and wound infections—are extremely hard to treat and can be deadly,” the CDC’s NDM-CRE report said. “Detection is also challenging, as many clinical laboratories lack the necessary testing capacity.”
The full list of pathogens listed as public health threats according to the report can be found below:
Urgent threats:
Candida auris (C. auris) Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeaeSerious threats:
Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) Drug-resistant Campylobacter Drug-resistant Candida Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Drug-resistant Neisseria meningitidis Drug-resistant nontyphoidal Salmonella Drug-resistant Salmonella Typhi Drug-resistant Shigella Drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae Extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales (ESC-RE) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)Concerning threats:
Clindamycin-resistant group B Streptococcus (GBS) Drug-resistant group A Streptococcus (GAS)Watch list:
Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus Drug-resistant Bordetella pertussis Drug-resistant dermatophytes Drug-resistant Haemophilus influenzae (Hi) Drug-resistant Mycoplasma genitalium Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)Hence then, the article about these 19 drug resistant germs are urgent and serious threats to us new cdc report says was published today ( ) and is available on NBC Chicago ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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