Recognising the value of infection prevention and its role in addressing the antimicrobial resistance crisis

Healthcare-associated infections, particularly ones caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, are associated with high morbidity, mortality and economic costs. In the USA, on average, 2 out of 10 patients admitted to a hospital contract a healthcare-associated infection and their mortality is estimated to exceed breast and prostate cancers, combined.1 Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are responsible for more than two million infections and 23 000 deaths each year in the USA, at a direct cost of $20 billion and additional productivity losses of $35 billion.2 In the European Union, an estimated 37 000 deaths are attributable to antibiotic-resistant infections, costing 1.5 billion annually in direct and indirect costs.3 Although these numbers are well known to hospital epidemiologists and infection preventionists, the magnitude of these numbers is often not appreciated by other clinicians and healthcare executives. Importantly, a large proportion of these infections are preventable. For example, a recent systematic review...

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