How Common Are Antibiotic-Resistant “Nightmare Bacteria”?

The problem of antibiotic resistance still has health experts worried. Several years ago, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (DC) have found bacteria resistant to virtually every known antibiotic in samples from hospitals around the country (MMWR, April 3, 2018). These so-called “nightmare bacteria” were found as part of an effort to analyze samples and detect resistance. Now the World Health Organization has alerted doctors that that common bacterial infections are increasingly resistant to antibiotics (WHO “Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System” (GLASDS) October 13, 2025).

WHO Reports Nightmare Bacteria Are Becoming More Common:

According to the WHO report, one in six bacterial infections in the study were no longer susceptible to the usual medications. More than 40% of antibiotics have lost potency over the last seven years. Infections that are harder to treat include gonorrhea, urinary tract infections and some gastrointestinal infections. Common bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are especially worrisome. If we do not develop new ways of treating these pathogens, millions are likely to die in the coming years. Drug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections already kill more than a million people worldwide and contribute to the deaths of millions more.

Looking for Carbapenem-Resistant Bacteria:

The CDC hopes to develop strategies to contain the spread of bacteria that are not susceptible to carbapenem and its relatives, considered antibiotics of last resort. That is why it analyzed data from the National Healthcare Safety Network between 2006 and 2015. The analyses showed that the percentage of infections caused by carbapenem-resistant bacteria has dropped during this time, from 10.6% in 2007 to 3.1% in 2015. The agency credits especially strict infection control programs for this decline.

Keeping Bacteria from Spreading Resistance:

Not all the news from this report is encouraging, however. Eleven percent of healthy people who were screened carried superbugs resistant to carbapenem. As a result, these carriers could unwittingly spread their dangerous germs to people with lowered immunity and therefore greater susceptibility to hard-to-treat infections. Such illnesses kill as many as half of those who become infected.

One worry about antibiotic-resistant bacteria is that they can share their scary superpower with other bacteria. In fact, the CDC found that one in four samples had genes that could allow them to spread antibiotic resistance to other microorganisms. That is what makes these bugs nightmare bacteria for public health officials.

Controlling Nightmare Bacteria:

The CDC proposes a containment strategy including stringent infection control measures and rapid identification of antibiotic resistance. It will be up to hospitals to implement much more rigorous infection-control strategies. If properly implemented, such procedures could save lives.

The WHO has expressed concern that such strategies may require resources that are not available in certain countries, where antibiotic-resistant microorganisms could take an enormous toll.