Biggest Threats and Data

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.