The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued its list of "Nine Health Threats That Made Headlines in 2019." Infections, infectious diseases and infection-related issues appear throughout the list.

They are as follows:

• Antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance. CDC highlights the significant threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi, noting that they cause millions of infections and thousands of deaths annually in the United States. On average, someone contracts an antibiotic-resistant infection every 11 seconds, while someone dies every 15 minutes. Prevention efforts have helped reduce the number of deaths, but significant challenges remain.

• Measles. One statistic essentially tells the whole story of measles in 2019: This year, there were more U.S. measles cases than in any of the last 25 years. As of early December, CDC reported nearly 1,300 cases of measles in 31 states for 2019. This is the largest number of cases reported in the United States since 1992. A major contributing factor, as CDC notes: "Despite high nationwide coverage with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, there are still communities where low vaccination rates leave people vulnerable to these dangerous diseases."

• Immunization and vaccination. The threat of low immunization and vaccination rates receives its own section. CDC discusses the importance of pregnant women receiving the two vaccines recommended during pregnancy (influenza and whooping cough (pertussis)), the annual seasonal influenza vaccine and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.

• Pregnancy-related deaths. CDC highlights a report that shows three in five pregnancy-related deaths could have been prevented. Infections is one of several causes of pregnancy-related deaths.

• HIV. "Progress in HIV prevention has stalled," CDC states, pointing to alarming statistics concerning diagnosing people living with HIV and the number of people who should be taking a daily HIV-prevention pill. A new initiative aims to reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030. 

• Ebola. Back in the spotlight because of the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The number of Ebola cases in DRC has surpassed 3,300, with more than 2,200 deaths. 

• Foodborne outbreaks. CDC states that in 2019, it investigated and resolved more than 75 outbreaks related to food or animal contact. 

Also on the list of threats: lung injuries linked to e-cigarettes/vaping and opioids.

Access the CDC's 2019 list.