Today, ECDC’s Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance Network (HAI-Net) publishes two updated protocols for the surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs): one for surgical site infections (SSIs) and prevention indicators, and another one for HAIs and prevention indicators in intensive care units (ICUs), both to be used by European hospitals. An update of the protocol for the surveillance of Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) was published on 21 April.
ECDC point prevalence surveys (PPSs) estimate that each year 3.5 million healthcare-associated infections occur in acute care hospitals, and 4.2 million in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) across Europe.
The findings in the latest report on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria from ECDC and EFSA underline the serious threat AMR poses to public and animal health. Infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobials lead to about 25 000 deaths in the EU every year.
The global rise of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) is alarming and is an increasing threat to patient safety, in Europe and globally.
Chlamydia infection, campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, gonorrhoea and tuberculosis were the most commonly reported notifiable infectious diseases in the EU and EEA in 2014.
Human cases of listeriosis and camylobacteriosis rose once again in 2014, continuing an upward trend that began in 2008. Salmonellosis cases increased slightly for the first time since 2008.
Treatment options for some of the most common food-borne infections are decreasing, as types of bacteria (called ‘isolates’) continue to show resistance to antimicrobial drugs.
Today, ECDC’s Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance Network (HAI-Net) publishes a new version of the software application HelicsWin.Net. The new version features the updated module for the second ECDC point prevalence survey (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals, taking place in 2016-2017.
The editorial published yesterday in Eurosurveillance highlights the current situation on the spread of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene (mcr-1). It also summarises available data from previously published articles and raises awareness about yet another threat to patient safety.
Bacteria in humans, food and animals continue to show resistance to the most widely used antimicrobials, says the latest report on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic bacteria in Europe. Resistance to ciprofloxacin, an antimicrobial that is critically important for the treatment of human infections, continues to be very high in Campylobacter, thus reducing the options for effective treatment of severe foodborne infections. In addition, multi-drug resistant Salmonella bacteria continue to spread across Europe.