Antibiotic-resistant bugs have become a common cause of death, says first report of its kind

For the first time, the government is estimating how many people die from drug-resistant bacteria each year — more than 23,000, or about as many as those killed annually by flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the number Monday to spotlight the growing threat of germs that are hard to treat because they’ve become resistant to drugs. Finally estimating the problem sends “a very powerful message,” said Dr. Helen Boucher, a Tufts University expert and spokeswoman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “We’re facing a catastrophe.” Antibiotics like penicillin and streptomycin first became widely available in the 1940s, and today dozens are used to kill or suppress the bacteria behind illnesses ranging from strep throat to the plague. The drugs are considered one of the greatest advances in the history of medicine, and have saved countless lives. But as decades passed, some antibiotics stopped working against the bugs they previously...