Health Care Associated Infections: Sources and Routes of Transmission

Health care associated infections are infections that patients acquire, while they are in contact with the healthcare system. Contact includes all procedures associated with diagnostics, treatment, care, and rehabilitation. Health care associated infections were formerly called hospital or nosocomial infections. Hospitals still account for the vast majority of cases; however, for practical reasons the concept has been widened to comprise infections in all parts of the health care system, because a growing part of disease management takes place outside hospitals, e.g. in out patient clinics, nursing homes and general practice. The spectrum of health care associated infections ranges from simple common colds to life threatening sepsis with multidrug resistant organisms. With the above definition, around 10 % of patients on average will become infected while they are in contact with the health care system. Health care associated infections also include occupational infectious diseases acquired by health care workers.