The cost of infection

A recent cross-sectional survey of 43 hospitals in the U.K. indicated that at any one time over 19% of all patients are likely to have an infection. Nearly half of those (9.2%) having acquired that infection during their stay in hospital. Of these hospital-acquired infections, 2.8% were of the urinary-tract, 1.7% were wounds and 1.5% were of the lower respiratory-tract (Meers et al, 1981).