Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a threat to patient safety during hospitalization. HAIs are associated with significant morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs, and they also impact negatively on patients’ health-related quality of life [1, 2]. In the United State, approximately 2 million HAIs are reported annually with about 90,000 deaths [3]. In Asia, HAIs prolonged hospital stay by 5–21 days and HAIs are associated with mortality ranging from 7% to 46%. In Africa, a higher rate of mortality among inpatients who suffer HAIs has been reported (22.0%). In addition, HAIs are associated with multidrug resistant pathogens which constitutes a burden to patient’s clinical and economic outcomes. Existing data suggest that the burden of HAIs is higher in low and middle income countries compared to developed countries [6, 7]. In the United States, HAIs affect about 4% of patients admitted to acute care health facilities, while 6.5% and 3.9% of patients in acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities in Europe have at least one HAI, respectively. In Asia, it is estimated that 9.0% of hospitalized patients develop at least one HAI with higher incidence reported in the intensive care unit (ICU). There are limited data describing the burden of HAIs in healthcare facilities across Africa; however, it is estimated that the prevalence of HAIs is much higher than in developed countries. Lack of infection prevention and control program and lack of hand hygiene training and infrastructure are some of the reasons responsible for the high rate of HAIs in Africa. Most HAIs are preventable using evidence-based multifaceted infection control and prevention measures. However, understanding the epidemiology of HAIs is a prerequisite for designing effective infection prevention and control interventions.
Point-prevalence surveys have been used in the US and by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for surveillance of HAIs. There is a lack of surveillance system to monitor HAIs in healthcare facilities across Africa. Previous estimate of HAIs in Africa was reported in a systematic reviewed conducted over 10 years ago. In recent years, several point-prevalence studies conducted in healthcare facilities across Africa have been published. The primary objective of this study is to estimate the pooled point-prevalence and types of HAIs among hospitalized patients in Africa. The secondary objectives are to evaluate the risk factors associated with HAIs and to describe the microorganisms isolated from patients with HAIs in African studies.
