BHAI

BHAI estimates the burden of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) using methodologies from the Burden of Communicable Diseases in Europe (BCoDE) project and point-prevalence survey data.

Key Features:

• Methodology: Builds upon methodologies used by the Burden of Communicable Diseases in Europe (BCoDE) project to estimate the burden of five common HAIs: healthcare-associated Clostridioides difficile infection, healthcare-associated pneumonia, healthcare-associated primary bloodstream infection, healthcare-associated urinary tract infection, and surgical-site infection.
• Data Utilization: Utilizes data from the point prevalence survey of HAIs conducted in European acute-care hospitals in 2011–2012.
• Estimation Capabilities: Produces estimates of HAI cases, attributable deaths, and DALYs; for Germany it estimated approximately 478,222 cases (95% UI: 421,350–537,787), 16,245 attributable deaths (95% UI: 10,863–22,756), and 248,920 DALYs (95% UI: 178,693–336,239).
• Comparative Analysis: Reports DALYs per 100,000 population to enable comparisons, with Germany at 308.2 DALYs per 100,000 (95% UI: 221.2–416.3) versus the EU/EEA average of 290.0 (95% UI: 214.9–376.9).
• Applicability: Implements a methodology adaptable for national burden estimation in other countries both within and outside the EU/EEA.

Scientific Applications:

• Epidemiological burden quantification: Provides DALY-based estimates of HAI burden to inform epidemiologists and infection control specialists.
• Public health decision support: Enables comparison of HAI burdens across regions to support healthcare policy and prioritization of infection prevention measures.

Methodology:

Implements BCoDE-based methods using 2011–2012 European acute-care hospital point-prevalence survey data to estimate HAI cases, attributable deaths, and DALYs for the five specified infection types.