Key points
- CDC's Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Reports (AR Threats Reports) are comprehensive references for information on AR in the United States.
- AR Threats Reports categorize pathogens based on their level of threat to human health and include a Watch List of pathogens whose full burden is not yet understood in the United States.
- Each AR Threats Report uses the best available data at the time of publication to estimate the impact of drug resistance on human health in the United States.
Overview
Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent public health threat that puts lives at risk and drains resources from our economy and workforce, including health care, agriculture, and food production. Data are critical to guide policy, investments, and interventions needed to combat antimicrobial resistance, and Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Reports (AR Threats Reports) make CDC data widely accessible. CDC uses the best available data at the time of publication for each AR Threats Report. Improved data and methodologies help paint a more accurate picture of the U.S. burden of drug-resistant infections.
New 2026 AR Threats Report
In 2026, CDC released an update to the AR Threats Report. The 2026 update to the AR Threats Report is CDC's most comprehensive estimate of the impact of drug-resistant pathogens on human health in the United States to date.
In keeping with the style of previous reports, the 2026 update to the AR Threats Report includes a list of 19 bacterial and fungal pathogens (germs) categorized by their level of threat to human health—urgent, serious, and concerning. In addition, the report includes a Watch List of six pathogens whose full burden is not yet understood in the United States but that are being monitored as potential future threats.
The 2026 update to the AR Threats Report also provides:
- Overall and individual burden estimates for the threats included in the report.
- Attributable healthcare costs and information about resistance to different antibiotics or antifungals for some pathogens.
- Stories that highlight the impact of AR threats on people in the United States.
- Information on what CDC is doing to combat AR threats.
- Downloadable resources, including data and graphics to support ease of sharing.
- Quick access to other CDC data platforms that track AR.
![[thumbnail] (hidden)](/antimicrobial-resistance/media/videos/ARTR-Video-Thumb.jpg)
Updated data methods
CDC changed methodologies and data sources to make the 2026 update to the AR Threats Report CDC's most comprehensive report to date. As a result, direct comparisons to previous AR Threats Reports for all pathogens except C. auris should not be made.
Updated report format
The 2026 update to the AR Threats Report shifts from a printed document and PDF to a website that enhances user experience, improves access to data, and supports more regular updates.
Previous AR Threats Reports
Previous AR Threats Reports guided U.S. policy for and investments in combating antimicrobial resistance.
2013
In 2013, CDC published the first AR Threats Report, which sounded the alarm to the danger of AR. The 2013 report stated that each year in the U.S. at least 2 million people got an antimicrobial-resistant infection, and at least 23,000 people died. The 2013 AR Threats Report helped inform the first National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.
2019
The 2019 AR Threats Report emphasized progress in combating AR and included new data sources to recalculate burden estimates which showed more than 2.6 million antimicrobial-resistant infections and nearly 44,000 deaths occur each year in the U.S.
2022 Special Report: COVID-19's Impact
CDC's 2022 special report highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on AR in the United States and found that much of the progress reported in the 2019 AR Threats Report was lost, in large part, due to the effects of the pandemic. The pandemic pushed healthcare facilities, health departments, and communities near their breaking points in 2020, making it difficult to maintain the progress in combating AR.
2024 Update on AR in Health Care
In 2024, CDC used new data to update the U.S. burden of seven antimicrobial-resistant pathogens typically found in healthcare settings. These data showed that six bacterial drug-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 addition, the number of reported clinical cases of Candida auris (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.
What Can You Do
- Share the AR Threats Report with your networks through social media, email, and other channels.
- Use the AR Threats Report to support engagement with policymakers about the threat and burden of AR and actions needed to protect Americans.
- Read and share AR Threats Report stories to raise awareness about what AR is and actions everyone can take to protect themselves and others from drug-resistant infections.
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The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.