Biggest Threats and Data | Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance | CDC

Biggest Threats and Data | Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance | CDC

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest public health challenges of our time. In 2013, CDC published a comprehensive analysis outlining the top 18 antibiotic-resistant threats in the U.S., titled Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013 (AR Threats Report). The report sounded the alarm to the danger of antibiotic resistance, stating that each year in the U.S., at least 2 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection, and at least 23,000 people die.

The report ranked the 18 threats (bacteria and fungi) into three categories based on level of concern to human health—urgent, serious, and concerning—and identified:

• Minimum estimates of morbidity and mortality from antibiotic-resistant infections
• People at especially high risk
• Gaps in knowledge about antibiotic resistance
• Core actions to prevent infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and slow spread of resistance
• What CDC was doing at that time to combat the threat of antibiotic resistance

The data below is pulled from the 2013 Threats Report. CDC is working towards releasing an updated AR Threats Report in fall 2019.

AR Threats Report, 2013[PDF – 114 pages]