Antibiotic resistance that turns ordinary disease-causing bacteria into illnesses that can’t be controlled could bring about the “next pandemic,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden warned at a National Press Club event Tuesday.

Frieden also addressed a series of laboratory safety lapses that brought CDC lab precautions to the public spotlight. But he devoted much of his attention Tuesday to other threats still facing public health.

Frieden brought attention to the growing trend of antibiotic-resistant bacteria – which can cause patients to “enter the hospital with one disease and leave with another,” Frieden said. Antibiotics and similar drugs – referred to under the umbrella of anti-microbrial agents – have been commonly used to treat infections and diseases for the past 70 years. However, their common use has caused some bacteria to mutate and become resistant to these drugs, according to the CDC.

Frieden cited CRE – a deadly family of bacteria that are nearly immune to antibiotics – as one of the most problematic infections because of their ability to “jump” between organisms and even species.

“Anti-microbial resistance has the potential to harm or kill anyone in the country, undermine modern medicine, to devastate our economy and to make our health […]