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2w ago

CDC Reports Rapid Rise in Drug-Resistant Infections as NDM Strains Spread

Limited testing in many states and scarce intravenous treatments are hampering care and likely masking wider spread.

FILE - A sign marks the entrance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters Aug. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
This 2019 illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention depicts carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) bacteria. (Stephanie Rossow/CDC via AP)
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Overview

  • A CDC analysis in Annals of Internal Medicine found carbapenem-resistant infections rose 69% from 2019 to 2023, with NDM-linked cases up about 460%.
  • In 2023, 29 states reported 4,341 carbapenem-resistant infections, including 1,831 involving the NDM resistance gene.
  • Researchers say the national burden is underestimated because several populous states and many hospitals lack the genetic testing needed to detect these strains.
  • Clinicians have only two costly IV antibiotics for NDM infections, and CDC officials are urging broader diagnostic access, infection-control adherence and antibiotic stewardship.
  • Experts say pandemic-era antibiotic use likely contributed to the surge, and unrecognized carriers could fuel spread that complicates routine infections such as UTIs.