Healthcare-associated infections
Healthcare-associated infections are infections acquired by patients during their stay in a hospital or another healthcare setting. Although some of these infections can be treated easily, others may more seriously affect a patient’s health, increasing their stay in the hospital and hospital costs, and causing considerable distress to these patients.
The most frequently reported types of healthcare-associated infections are respiratory tract infections, surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections and gastro-intestinal infections, with Clostridium difficile infections representing almost half of the gastro-intestinal infections.
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Healthcare-associated infections
Disease / public health area
Clostridium difficile infections
The transmission of Clostridium difficile can be patient-to-patient, via contaminated hands of healthcare workers or by environmental contamination.
Clostridium difficile infections - Facts and surveillance
About Disease Clostridium difficile infections
Facts about healthcare-associated infections in long-term care facilities
In Europe, most long-term care facilities are for the elderly, including general nursing homes, residential homes and mixed facilities. In 2013, there were approximately 63 224 care facilities for older adults with a capacity of approximately 3.6 million beds.
Facts about surgical site infections
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are an important target for the surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HAI). This surveillance is a priority for surveillance in several European countries. SSIs are among the most common HAI. They are associated with longer post-operative hospital stays, additional surgical procedures, may require intensive care and often result in higher mortality.