Trends in Drug-Resistant Infections

Antibiotic-resistant germs cause more than 2 million illnesses and at least 23,000 deaths each year in the US. “Nightmare germs” called CRE (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae) can cause deadly infections and have become resistant to all or nearly all antibiotics we have today. MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infections commonly cause pneumonia and sepsis that can be deadly. C. difficile (Clostridium difficile) infections are at historically high rates.  The CDC posits that preventing infections could save 37,000 lives from drug-resistant infections over 5 years.