What are nightmare bacteria' and why are infections rising in the US?

"The number of infections by drug-resistant, nightmare bacteria rose by almost 70 percent between 2019 and 2023 in the United States, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country's national public health agency. Driving the increase are drug-resistant bacteria with the so-called NDM gene (New Delhi metallo--lactamase), researchers said. Bacteria with the NDM gene were once considered exotic and were linked to only a small number of patients, mostly outside the US."

"Only one type of antibiotics, known as carbapenems, have been known to work against some nightmare bacteria. However, the presence of NDM-gene bacteria can now render these entirely ineffective as well. While absolute numbers of people with drug-resistant bacterial infections in the US remain low, cases have risen at an alarming rate in recent years, the researchers reported on Monday."

"Antimicrobial resistance can occur when bacteria develop new ways to defend themselves against the drugs used to kill them. The misuse of antibiotics has driven the rise people not finishing prescribed courses of antibiotics or receiving unnecessary prescriptions, which don't fully kill off an infection, can enable bacteria to get used to an antibiotic and grow resistant to it. Resistant bacteria are then able to survive and spread their genes to other bacteria."

Infections by drug-resistant bacteria in the United States rose by almost 70 percent between 2019 and 2023. The increase is driven largely by bacteria carrying the NDM gene (New Delhi metallo-lactamase), which were once considered exotic and mostly found outside the US. Only one class of antibiotics, carbapenems, has been effective against some nightmare bacteria, and NDM-gene bacteria can render carbapenems ineffective. Data from 29 states show 4,341 carbapenem-resistant infections in 2023, with 1,831 attributable to NDM. Antimicrobial resistance arises when bacteria evolve defenses; misuse of antibiotics, such as incomplete courses and unnecessary prescriptions, accelerates resistance and gene spread.

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