The
first adage of patient care is "to do no harm". However, health care
associated infections (HCAI) constitute and continue to be a major complication
of hospitalisation. Infections associated with health care increase the suffering,
prolong hospital stay and result in high costs to patients, their families and
the health care system. Added to this cost is the erosion of trust and confidence
in health care institutions among the public and health care providers. Recent
reports indicate that at any time about 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from
HCAI. According to estimates the risk of HCAI is 2-20 times higher in developing
countries where the overall incidence of HCAI is about 10% of hospitalised patients.
