U.S. deaths from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections jumped 15 percent in 2020, as did hospital-acquired infections, according to a new analysis released on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The threat of antimicrobial-resistant infections is not only still present but has gotten worse, according to the analysis. Hospital-onset deaths and infections from antimicrobial-resistant bacteria both increased at least 15 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, the report found.
The CDC notes that figures for 2020 are a reversal of what had been a good trend in the country, as deaths from superbugs had fallen since 2012.
According to Reuters, the CDC said that more than 29,400 people died from antimicrobial-resistant infections during the first year of the pandemic and that of those, nearly 40 percent had acquired the infection while in the hospital.
The health agency said almost 80 percent of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 received an antibiotic – even though they are not useful for viral infections. But it was difficult to distinguish COVID-19 from pneumonia when patients first arrived at the hospital, the CDC said.
In 2020, “we saw a significant increase in antimicrobial use, difficulty in following infection prevention and control guidance, and a resulting increase in healthcare-associated, antimicrobial-resistant infections in U.S. hospitals,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky wrote in the report.
It should also be noted that the inpatient population in 2020 was very different from the pre-pandemic population. Hospitals saw higher numbers of sicker patients who needed an extended length of stay, which increased their risk for resistant infections.
Many of those patients were “catheterized and on ventilators for extended periods of time, increasing the risk of infections and spread of pathogens,” especially when combined with personal protective equipment and lab supply challenges, reduced staff, and longer lengths of stay,” the report stated, reports The Hill.
On the same day that the CDC released its analysis, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report identifying 61 vaccine candidates it said should be developed to prevent disease and help control the bacterial infections and antibiotic overuse that leads to antimicrobial resistance.
The WHO said that 1.27 million deaths are due to antimicrobial resistance each year.
