Healthcare-associated infections

The transmission of Clostridium difficile can be patient-to-patient, via contaminated hands of healthcare workers or by environmental contamination.

In 2014, 6 995 (8%) of patients staying in an intensive care unit (ICU) for more than two days presented with at least one ICU-acquired healthcare-associated infection.

On any given day, about 80 000 patients have at least one healthcare-associated infection, i.e. one in 18 patients in a European hospital.

In Europe, most long-term care facilities are for the elderly: nursing homes, residential homes and mixed facilities. ECDC monitors the burden of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use through repeated point prevalence surveys.

Surgical site infections are associated with longer post-operative hospital stays, additional surgical procedures, may require intensive care and often result in higher mortality.