AI Insight
The CDC identified a 461% increase in NDM-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (NDM-CRE) infections in the United States between 2019 and 2023. Researchers are now investigating whether this dramatic rise was caused by the spread of closely related bacterial strains or by diverse, unrelated strains acquiring similar resistance mechanisms. This analysis, presented at ASM Microbe 2026, aims to determine the evolutionary patterns driving this drug-resistant bacterial threat.
Why it matters
Understanding the genetic relationships among NDM-CRE strains is critical for developing targeted public health interventions and infection control strategies. If the increase stems from a single spreading strain, containment efforts can be focused differently than if multiple independent strains are simultaneously acquiring resistance.
Previous research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that a dangerous variety of bacteria that cause drug-resistant infections, called NDM-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (NDM-CRE), has become much more common in the United States, increasing by 461% from 2019–2023. Now, in a new study presented at ASM Microbe 2026, researchers set out to better understand what was behind this sudden increase, examining if it was driven by closely related strains or, instead, by many different, unrelated bacteria.
Source: CDC sleuthing helps decipher drug-resistant infection rise