One in 18 Europeans Get an Infection from Hospital: ECDC Report

One in every 18 people in European hospitals or about 80,000 people a day suffer from an infection acquired in a hospital, according to a report by the European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control.

Not all these infections are serious though and can be easily treated, the agency said. However, certain infections such as those by MRSA or by other superbugs would require additional surgery and prolonged stay at the hospital.

Estimates by the agency show that about 3.2 million people in Europe suffer from healthcare related infection.

"The survey confirms that healthcare-associated infections pose a major public health problem and a threat to European patients," said Marc Sprenger, ECDC Director, according to a statement.

He added that "Many of these infections could be prevented by sustained, multifaceted infection prevention and control programmes, including surveillance of healthcare-associated infections."

The survey found that the most common type of infection in ICUs were respiratory tract infections and bloodstream contamination. Of the total 15,000 reported hospital infections, a majority were respiratory tract infections followed with infections at surgical site and urinary tract infections.

Also, about one in every three patients in the European hospital was given antibiotics. Antibiotics have diminished the spread of infections in the past few decades. However, extensive usage of these medicines has led to bacteria getting resistant to them. ECDC said that hospitals should limit their use of broad spectrum antibiotics.

The survey covered about 1,000 hospitals in 30 European countries. The report along with supporting documents and infographics can be read here.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are common and pose a threat to many people even in the U.S. However, the country has been able to cut down these infections due to government initiatives that were implemented in 2008.

Recently the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had announced that there was a 41 percent decline in bloodstream infections in 2011 when compared to the figures of 2008.