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The CDC’s 2026 Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Report identifies 19 pathogens across urgent, serious and concerning threat levels, plus six on a watch list. Together, the pathogens are estimated to cause 9.7 million infections and 50,800 deaths annually in the United States. The agency moved C. difficile from urgent to serious, while adding several emerging threats to its lists.
The CDC’s 2026 Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Report lists 19 pathogens with threat levels ranging from concerning to urgent and estimates they cause 9.7 million infections and 50,800 deaths a year in the United States. The updated assessment also places six additional pathogens on a watch list, highlighting organisms the agency says could pose future public health risks.
Four drug-resistant pathogens occupy the report’s urgent-threat category: Candida auris, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales and drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The CDC’s urgent designation identifies pathogens it considers to require aggressive action. The agency also classifies other organisms as serious or concerning; the report covers 19 pathogens in all, in addition to the six watch-list entries.
The report gives examples of the burden associated with several urgent threats. Reported U.S. cases of C. auris rose from 48 in 2016 to 4,523 in 2023. Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter was associated with 9,497 U.S. hospitalizations and an estimated 817 deaths in 2023; carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales was associated with 14,878 hospitalizations and an estimated 1,252 deaths that year. These figures describe specific pathogens and the stated year, not the full annual toll attributed to all 19.
Drug-resistant gonorrhea is another concern in the urgent category. The CDC report estimates that drug-resistant N. gonorrhoeae caused 787,000 U.S. infections in 2023. It says 55.4% of gonorrhea cases that year were resistant to at least one of six antibiotics or showed elevated minimum inhibitory concentrations. The report notes that the FDA approved two new antibiotics for gonorrhea in 2025: gepotidacin, marketed as Blujepa, and zoliflodacin, marketed as Nuzolvence.
How Resistance Affects Medical Care
Antimicrobial resistance can make infections harder to treat when medicines that once worked are no longer effective. The concern extends beyond the infections themselves: the Infectious Diseases Society of America says drug-resistant infections can prolong hospital stays and raise health care costs, while complicating care that depends on preventing or treating infection.
Wendy Armstrong, president of the society, said resistant infections can make it more difficult for doctors to provide care such as cancer chemotherapy, organ transplants and joint replacements. The report’s estimates give policymakers and health systems a measure of the public health burden, while its threat categories point to pathogens the CDC considers to need focused attention. The figures are estimates, and the report’s pathogen-specific examples show that impacts vary by organism and year.
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Changes in the CDC Threat Rankings
The updated report changes the status of several pathogens. Clostridioides difficile moved from urgent to serious, which the source report says was driven in part by infection-prevention efforts and a decline in cases since 2011. That change is a shift in the CDC’s threat category; it does not mean the organism no longer poses a serious health concern.
The CDC added drug-resistant Neisseria meningitidis to the serious-threat category, calling for prompt and sustained action. Drug-resistant dermatophytes, drug-resistant Haemophilus influenzae and nontuberculous mycobacteria joined the watch list, alongside other potential threats. The report describes the watch-list organisms as having uncertain disease burdens that could develop into future concerns.
The report also carries policy implications. Armstrong called for Congress to pass the PASTEUR Act, which would establish a federal program to support development of antimicrobial drugs for threatening pathogens and infections. The source report says versions of the bill remain stalled in congressional committees.
“These numbers are alarming by any measure, but they are particularly sobering when infectious diseases physicians connect real patients with these statistics in their everyday experience.”
— Wendy Armstrong, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
Limits of the Report’s Estimates
The CDC’s combined estimate of 50,800 deaths and 9.7 million infections annually covers the pathogens in the report, but the source material does not specify the estimation method, uncertainty ranges or a comparison with the previous report. The listed 2023 hospitalization, death and infection figures apply to individual pathogens and should not be treated as current-year counts.
The report places six organisms on a watch list because their disease burdens are uncertain. The source material does not provide detailed estimates for those organisms or explain how likely they are to become more significant threats. It also does not give a timetable for any next update to the rankings.
Monitoring Threats and Drug Policy
The CDC’s report sets out the agency’s current threat classifications, while the watch-list additions signal areas for continued monitoring. Further information on disease burden and changes in resistance would help clarify whether the newly listed organisms warrant different public health responses.
On the policy front, the PASTEUR Act remains stalled in congressional committees, according to the source report. Armstrong is urging lawmakers to advance it, but the material does not identify a committee vote or a scheduled next step. The timing of any action on the bill, and the next CDC assessment, remain unknown.
Key Questions
How many deaths does the CDC estimate these pathogens cause?
The report estimates that the pathogens it lists cause 50,800 deaths annually in the United States. That is a combined estimate, not a count for any one pathogen.
Which pathogens are classified as urgent threats?
The four named urgent threats are Candida auris, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales and drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Why did C. difficile move to a lower threat category?
The report moved C. difficile from urgent to serious. The source says infection-prevention measures contributed to falling case numbers since 2011; the new category still identifies it as a serious threat.
What does the CDC watch list mean?
The watch list includes six potential threats whose disease burden is uncertain and that could become more significant. The source material does not say that every watch-list organism will become a major threat.
What is the status of the PASTEUR Act?
The source report says versions of the proposed PASTEUR Act remain stalled in congressional committees. It does not provide a date for a vote or further action.
Source: medpagetoday.com
