By IANS,
New Delhi : Hospitals in India have a high burden of infections in their intensive care units (ICU) and general wards where patients recuperate, a study said Thursday.
“In Indian ICUs, the rate of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), a dangerous hospital infection, is five times higher than its prevalence in the rest of the world,” said the study, conducted by the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) and Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP).
The infection spreads from person to person and is an increasing problem in hospitals and chronic-care facilities.
The report, titled ‘Situation Analysis: Antibiotic Use and Resistance in India’, said that a large proportion of the hospital acquired infections (HAI) are preventable.
HAIs lead to longer hospital stays, increased treatment costs, and in some cases, even death.