A growing health threat causes an alarming number of 23,000 deaths in the United States per year, and it's not cancer or cardiovascular disease; its serious bacterial infection.

Federal health officials disclosed Monday that at least 2 million patients suffer from bacterial infections each year, and 23,000 of these patients die from the infection, according to The New York Times.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report detailing the fact that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a growing, serious threat to public health. The report, which runs for 114 pages, records 'infections from 17 drug-resistant bacteria and one fungus,' which are deemed to be the cause of most cases of bacterial infections in the US.

One type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is the deadly Enterobacteriaceae or CRE, and researchers reveal that CRE strains had been discovered in various healthcare facilities across 44 states, as reported by The New York Times. Patients develop bacterial infections while in the hospital, and such infections can be fatal with 100,000 deaths per year, according to a CDC 2007 report. Other antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are just as deadly include the Clostridium Difficile or C-Diff, and the Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Part of the problem of this growing health threat is the fact that antibiotics are overprescribed and overused, so that the CDC advised the public that the prevention of infection remains to be the best move, according to CNN.

The practice of good hygiene and the proper handling of food are essential habits in avoiding bacterial infections. Most importantly, the CDC emphasized the often-forgotten fact that patients must take anti-biotic medication only when it's really needed. This change in perception and practice is perhaps "the single most important action needed to greatly slow the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections," according to CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, as reported by CNN.

In their 2011 National Vital Statistics Reports, the CDC lists these five diseases as the leading cause of death in the US: Diseases of heart, Malignant neoplasms, Chronic lower respiratory diseases, Cerebrovascular diseases and Accidents (unintentional injuries). However, with 23,000 deaths in its wake, bacterial infections are not too far off from the top rank.