Report on the Burden of Endemic Health Care-Associated Infection Worldwide
12 January 2011
| Report
Overview
Health care-associated infection (HCAI) is acquired by patients while receiving care and represents the most frequent adverse event. However, the global burden remains unknown because of the difficulty to gather reliable data. In many settings, from hospitals to ambulatory and long-term care, HCAI appears to be a hidden, cross-cutting problem that no institution or country can claim to have solved yet. HCAI surveillance is complex and requires the use of standardized criteria, availability of diagnostic facilities and expertise to conduct it and interpret the results. Surveillance systems for HCAI exist in several high-income countries but are virtually nonexistent in most low- and middle-income countries.
Editors
World Health Organization
Number of pages
40
Reference numbers
ISBN: 9789241501507
Copyright
World Health Organization