From time to time, we have featured reports about infectious disease pathogens becoming more resistant to antibiotics. For example, in 2024, I reported that China may be facing a healthcare crisis with a steep rise in the number of cases involving drug-resistant, sexually-transmitted “super-gonorrhea.”
Now there is a new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicating that infection rates for another dangerous drug-resistant bacteria surged nearly 70% in the U.S. between 2019 and 2023, posing a very concerning health threat.
A new study from the CDC found that infection rates for a drug-resistant “nightmare bacteria” are on the rise, increasing nearly 70% between 2019 and 2023.The increase was primarily driven by the NDM gene, which makes bacteria particularly difficult to treat.Only two antibiotics are known to effectively combat these infections, and both are cost-prohibitive and must be administered by IV.Bacterial resistance occurs when bacteria become strong enough to overcome the medicines designed to destroy them.
The bacteria driving this surge are known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), specifically those carrying the NDM gene, known as New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-CRE). These bacteria are extremely difficult to treat because they neutralize some of the strongest “last line” antibiotics available, leaving two costly intravenous drugs as the only effective treatment options.
Bacteria with the gene were once considered exotic, linked to a small number of patients who received medical care overseas. Though the numbers are still small, the rate of U.S. cases jumped more than fivefold in recent years, the researchers reported.“The rise of NDMs in the U.S. is a grave danger and very worrisome,” said David Weiss, an Emory University infectious diseases researcher, in an email.It’s likely many people are unrecognized carriers of the drug-resistant bacteria, which could lead to community spread, the CDC scientists said.That may play out in doctors’ offices across the country, as infections long considered routine and easy to treat — like urinary tract infections — could become chronic problems, said Dr. Maroya Walters, one of the report’s authors.
In recent years, the CDC has focused more attention on “nightmare bacteria,” a term used to describe microbes that are resistant to a wide range of antibiotics.
Infection with the Enterobacterales bacteria can cause a range of serious health problems, particularly in hospitalized individuals or people with weakened immune systems, and these can be life-threatening if the bacteria are drug-resistant. Symptoms vary widely but can include high fevers, impacts on the respiratory and digestive system, and other significant and potentially fatal health effects.
One reason for the concern is that the resistance gene can be readily spread to other bacteria.
In hospitals and other healthcare settings, bacteria can become resistant to certain antibiotics, like carbapenems, that are used often to treat serious infections. Bacteria can pass their resistant genes to other, existing bacteria (horizontal gene transfer). They can also survive the antibiotics by other means and go on to reproduce, passing on their genes (including resistance) to more copies of the bacteria.
Another reason for the worry among health professionals is that carbapenems are a class of antibiotics considered a last resort treatment for serious infections.
Researchers drew data from 29 states that do the necessary testing and reporting of carbapenem-resistant bacteria.They counted 4,341 cases of carbapenem-resistant bacterial infections from those states in 2023, with 1,831 of them the NDM variety. The researchers did not say how many of the infected people died.
I must admit, I enjoyed living during the Golden Age of Modern Medicine…when both vaccines and antibiotics worked as promised.
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