Health officials have been warning us about antibiotic overuse and drug-resistant `` superbugs '' for a long time . But today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sounding the alarm in a new way . For the first time , the CDC is categorizing drug-resistant superbugs by threat level . That 's because , in their conservative estimates , more than 2 million people get antibiotic-resistant infections each year , and at least 23,000 die because current drugs no longer stop their infections . Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria that cause infection . However , in the process they can also kill so-called good bacteria ( the human body hosts about 100 trillion ) . The Missouri Department of Health explains it this way : `` Every time a person takes antibiotics , sensitive bacteria are killed , but resistant germs may be left to grow and multiply . Repeated and improper uses of antibiotics are primary causes of the increase in drug-resistant bacteria . '' Some bad bacteria are naturally resistant to certain types of antibiotics , according to Tufts University . Others can become resistant by spontaneous genetic mutation or by swapping genes with other bugs . So the CDC is ranking the worst drug-resistant bacteria according to how many people get sick , the number of hospitalizations and the number of deaths caused by each . They also took into account how many , if any , existing antibiotics still work on the bacteria . Instead of red , orange or yellow -- the levels once used to describe terrorism threats -- the CDC is using `` urgent , '' `` serious '' and `` concerning . '' Fatal brain disease may have infected 13 . Knowing the specific names of the deadly bacteria may not be essential for the average person , but CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said Monday that the CDC is warning the public about these health threats before they get out of control . `` For the first time , '' said Frieden , `` we have a snapshot of antimicrobial threats that have the most impact on human health . '' According to the CDC , the following bacteria are the most `` Urgent Threats '' : . CRE bacteria -- a family of germs called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae , which includes E. Coli . Some CRE bacteria are resistant to all existing antibiotics . The CDC reports more than 9,000 infections are contracted in hospitals and other health care settings from these bacteria . As many as 50 % of the patients who are infected with CRE end up dying because there is nothing to help them fight the infections . Clostridium Difficile ( C-Diff for short ) -- a bacteria that can cause life-threatening diarrhea . It kills up to 14,000 people and causes a quarter million hospitalizations each year . Most patients who get this potentially deadly infection are on antibiotics for other infections . The problem is that while antibiotics kill bad bugs , they also kill good bacteria in your gastrointestinal system that help fight off bad bacteria , C-Diff included . Fecal transplant cures woman 's bacterial infection . Neisseria gonorrhoeae -- the drug-resistant form of this bacteria causes gonorrhea , the second most commonly reported infection in the United States . Gonorrhea can cause a variety of illnesses in men and women , including infertility . The CDC estimates there are 820,000 infections each year . In nearly a third of the cases , treatment of the sexually-transmitted disease , is hampered by growing antibiotic resistance . Sexually-transmitted superbug could be major crisis . Frieden said if the current trends continue , `` the medicine cabinet may be empty for patients who need them in the coming months and years . '' To avoid what Frieden calls a `` post-antibiotic '' era , where none of the existing drugs work anymore and new ones have n't been approved , the CDC has created a four-step plan to stem the tide of antibiotic resistance . The government agency hopes to better track infections in the future to know when a bacteria is becoming drug-resistant . By spotting the trend earlier , scientists may be able to develop new antibiotics quicker . You can also do your part , the CDC said , by preventing infections in the first place . Preventing infection starts with practicing good hand hygiene and safe food-handling , so you do n't get sick in the first place . Since many antibiotic-resistant infections are spread in hospital settings , patients and their families should feel empowered to ask doctors and other health care personnel coming into their rooms if they have washed their hands . Patients should also only take antibiotics when they are really necessary . Changing the way antibiotics are used is perhaps `` the single most important action needed to greatly slow the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections , '' Frieden said . Patients need to demand fewer antibiotics and doctors have to resist patients requests for them when they know they wo n't work . Also , lowering the use of antibiotics in animals to only when it 's absolutely necessary can contribute to stretching the life and usefulness of available drugs , Frieden said . Disinfectants could give rise to superbugs .
More than 2 million people get antibiotic-resistant infections each year . The new study is the first to look at how antibiotics affect bacteria in a human body and what happens when they are no longer effective. Drug-resistant 'superbugs ' include CRE bacteria , C-Diff and Neisseria gonorrhoeae .