What are ‘nightmare bacteria’ and why are infections rising in the US? | Health News

The number of infections by drug-resistant, “nightmare bacteria” rose by almost 70 percent between 2019 and 2023 in the United States, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country’s national public health agency.

Driving the increase are drug-resistant bacteria with the so-called “NDM gene” (New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase), researchers said. Bacteria with the NDM gene were once considered “exotic” and were linked to only a small…