July 24, 2024- The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) used new data to update the United States (U.S.) burden of seven antimicrobial-resistant pathogens typically found in healthcare settings. The CDC previously reported that the burden of these pathogens increased in the U.S. in 2020 in the COVID-19 Impact Report. The new data describe the burden in the two following years, 2021 and 2022, and compares against 2019 data. The new data show that six bacterial antimicrobial-resistant hospital-onset infections increased by a combined 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period, peaking in 2021, and remaining above pre-pandemic levels in 2022. In 2022, rates for all but one of these pathogens (MRSA) remained above pre-pandemic levels.
In addition, the number of reported clinical cases of C. auris—a type of yeast that can spread in healthcare facilities, is often resistant to antifungal medications, and can cause severe illness—increased nearly five-fold from 2019 to 2022.
The increases in antimicrobial resistance (AR) burden seen in 2020 and 2021 are likely due in part to the impact of COVID-19, which pushed healthcare facilities, health departments and communities near their breaking points, according to the CDC.
The CDC recommends investing in the prevention-focused public health actions that we know work, including effective infection prevention and control, accurate laboratory detection, rapid response, appropriate antibiotic and antifungal use and innovative prevention strategies. In 2021 and 2022, CDC’s AR Lab Network tested more than 230,000 patient samples for detection and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant organisms. This testing helped inform efforts to stop spread and protect patients.