Infection control--present and future

Infection rates remain high in hospitals throughout the world and studies have shown that about 1 in 10 patients in hospital at any one time have an acquired infection. Prevalence studies carried out in different European countries have shown remarkably consistent infection rates despite considerable variations in infection control activities and facilities, e.g. England and Wales 9.2%, Sweden 10.5%, Denmark 10.4% and 12.1%, Norway 9.0%, Belgium 9.3%, W. Germany 9.8%, Italy 6.8% and Spain 12.0%. However, cross-infection, particularly staphylococcal, has decreased considerably in our own hospital over the past 15 years, although the overall infection rate has not changed.