Hospital infections kill 30,000 a year

Published: 9 May 11 08:26 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20110509-34883.html

Up to 30,000 people die in Germany each year from hospital infections – double the number previously expected – three medical groups have found.

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Daily Bild reported that evidence to a parliamentary committee from three leading medical organisations concludes that previous estimates from the 1990s on the incidence of hospital-acquired infections such as staphylococcus are inadequate.

A report was compiled jointly by the German Society for Hospital Hygiene, the Society for Hygiene, Environmental Medicine and Preventative Medicine, and the Federal Association of Doctors in Public Health Services.

It was given to the health committee of the federal parliament, or Bundestag, which is holding hearings on Monday on planned laws to improve hospital hygiene.

The report concluded that previous estimates were optimistic. They came from a study made in the 1990s and were regarded as “extremely low,” the new report said.

Old figures failed to take into account the large number of undocumented infection cases and “certainly had to be revised upward,” it said.

The previous estimate held that there were 400,000 to 600,000 infection cases per year, but in fact “a minimum of 700,000 cases had to be assumed,” it said.

The estimate of 7,500 to 15,000 deaths per year also had to be revised upward. Instead, the figure of “up to 30,000 fatal cases per year” had to be expected.

The Local/djw

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Your comments about this article:

12:31 May 9, 2011 by Zlik

Krankit up louder please

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20:35 May 9, 2011 by Englishted

Estimates thats all these are ,can't anybody give figures for people who died ?,

three medical groups and still only estimates is this the 21st century ,do we have computers ,why are we going backwards in so many ways.

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01:54 May 10, 2011 by Freeman

I fully hear what you r saying mi' man. Me Think Things like this appear to Conclude " I wonder if this Place can, " in People or humans, better.. A question in question hospital system of system from systems still.

This is health??? !!!!

But in reality their saying we can't . fully say we'll live up to or duty and responsibilities .Result Higher costs and Less quality overall which in direct contrast to the oath of it's faithfalling staff that probably are walking on eggshells in fear of job loss of em.

I know their holding old for better terms like money or better yet Indicted on those counts.

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18:52 May 10, 2011 by Lisa Rusbridge

No one should be surprised by these stats. Hospitals are a hotbed of bacterial and viral agents. People in varying states of compromised health are far more like to contract an infection. Additionally there are bacterial infections that are becoming antibiotic-resistant thus making the battle tougher.

The best advice is to keep hospital stays as short as possible. A hospital isn't a hotel and healing and recovery are best done at home. Barring that one needs to make sure they and someone on behalf of them serves as a health care advocate. Don't be afraid to be proactive and ask questions, to make sure a medical professional in your room has washed their hands (hint: it's not the soap completely that washes, it's the rubbing together of the hands for a full 30 seconds), be a pain in the ass if you have to..., it's your life. Doctors and all medical personal are just like everyone else. They aren't gods.

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