Hepatitis B is a liver disease that results from infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and is spread through contact with infected body fluids or blood products. Following acute infection with HBV, some people go on to develop a chronic infection.
In Europe, most long-term care facilities are for the elderly: nursing homes, residential homes and mixed facilities. ECDC monitors the burden of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use through repeated point prevalence surveys.
Healthcare-associated infections are infections acquired by patients during their stay in a hospital or another healthcare setting. Although some of these infections can be treated easily, others may more seriously affect a patient’s health, increasing their stay in the hospital and hospital costs, and causing considerable distress to these patients.
Surgical site infections are associated with longer post-operative hospital stays, additional surgical procedures, may require intensive care and often result in higher mortality.