Infectious disease experts identify respiratory illnesses as a major public health concern, despite their familiarity to the general population. Influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cause substantial annual harm. During the 2025–26 respiratory virus season, the CDC estimated up to 57 million flu illnesses and 81,000 deaths, while the previous flu season had the highest severity in over a decade with 280 pediatric deaths. COVID resulted in an estimated 48,000 deaths that season, and RSV caused up to 25,000 deaths. Vaccinations against flu and COVID remain the most effective prevention strategy, though vaccine protection varies and primarily guards against severe disease rather than infection itself.
Antibiotic resistance represents another significant threat that receives insufficient public attention. Drug-resistant bacteria and fungi cause approximately 9.7 million infections annually in the United States, a substantial increase from 2.8 million in 2019. Research indicates that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotics in 2023. The overuse of antibiotics compounds the problem by disrupting protective gut microbes, potentially leading to serious infections like Clostridioides difficile, which causes approximately 500,000 infections yearly. This creates a difficult balance in antibiotic use and represents what experts describe as a slow-moving crisis.
Source: Read the full story at CIDRAP
This summary was written with AI assistance from the linked source.
Send this to yourself, or to someone who should see it
Enter your email and we will send you a link to this article.
