INFECTION

‘Nightmare’ Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Pose Growing Threat Across U.S.

Antibiotic-resistant germs currently kill 23,000 Americans each year.

Antibiotic-resistant “nightmare bacteria” are popping up across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CDC program found 221 instances of “unusual resistance genes” in “nightmare bacteria” in 2017, and 11 percent of total people screened for the “superbugs” carried them even if they were asymptomatic, according to NBC News. Antibiotic-resistant germs currently kill 23,000 Americans each year and mutate to evade the effects of traditional antibiotics, the outlet reported. The CDC likened these germs to “wildfire” if not controlled, and the World Health Organization called them a “fundamental threat” to humanity. The CDC has tested a new system “aimed at quickly identifying these superbugs.” “Early and aggressive action—when even a single case is found—can keep germs with unusual resistance from spreading in health care facilities and causing hard-to-treat or even untreatable infections,” the CDC said.