America is doing a superb job of preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), but still lacks in some areas, mainly in battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The latest Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has suggested healthcare workers to use mixture of infection control recommendations for protecting the patients in a better way from such infections.

CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, said, “New data show that far too many patients are getting infected with dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria in healthcare settings. Doctors and healthcare facilities have the power to protect patients – no one should get sick while trying to get well”.

A number of the most urgent and serious antibiotic-resistant bacteria has put the life of the patients at risk while they undergo treatment in healthcare facilities for other problems, and could result in sepsis or death.

Within acute care hospitals, one in seven catheter and surgery-related HAIs are caused by one of the six antibiotic-resistant bacteria mentioned in the report. That number changed into one in four infections in long-term acute care hospitals wherein normally very sick people undergo treatment and stay, on average, over 25 days.

The six examined antibiotic-resistant threats include Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE); Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa; ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (extended-spectrum ß-lactamases); Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE); Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); and Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter.

The hospitals in the US have been doing better at preventing most HAIs. The Vital Signs report’s national data and the data from CDC’s latest yearly progress report on HAI prevention have shown that acute care hospitals have attained a 50% reduction in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) between the years 2008 and 2014; a 17% fall in surgical site infections (SSIs) between 2008 and 2014 linked to 10 procedures followed in last HAI progress reports. The report has mentioned several other achievements also.