Drug Resistant Bacteria Account for 23,000 Deaths in US, CDC Report

The number of people dying from antibiotic resistant infections has been growing. Each year, 23,000 people die of the infections, according to a latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For the first time, the agency has ranked antibiotic resistant microbes according to the level of threat they pose to human health. They are separated in three categories (ranks): urgent, serious, or concerning.

Carbapenem- resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), drug-resistant gonorrhea, and Clostridium difficile, all fall under "urgent" as these infections spread easily and are difficult to treat. CREs are also known as 'the nightmare bacteria' as they have become resistant to our last line of antibiotics called carbapenems.

Previous research has shown that continued use of stronger antibiotics will only make bacteria more resistant.

"Antibiotic resistance is rising for many different pathogens that are threats to health," said Tom Frieden, M.D., Director CDC. "If we don't act now, our medicine cabinet will be empty and we won't have the antibiotics we need to save lives."

Cost of treating antibiotic resistant infections is high. According to CDC, direct price of treating these infections is about $20 billion without even counting for indirect costs, like loss of working days, which costs another $35 billion to the U.S. economy.

CDC says that people can reduce the chance of antibiotic resistant infection by reducing intake of unnecessary antibiotics. About 50 percent of antibiotics used in the country are either not needed or aren't prescribed properly, according to a news release.

"Every time antibiotics are used in any setting, bacteria evolve by developing resistance.  This process can happen with alarming speed. These drugs are a precious, limited resource-the more we use antibiotics today, the less likely we are to have effective antibiotics tomorrow," said Steve Solomon, director of CDC's Office of Antimicrobial Resistance.