Hospital infections are the leading cause of post-operative complications in patients with reduced immunity. Infections that result from treatment in a hospital or a healthcare service unit and are not related to a patient's original condition are called Nosocomial infections or Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI). Typically, they surface after 48 hours or more of hospitalization and within 30 days after discharge. Hospitals house large numbers of individuals with ailments and reduced immunity. The current trend of increase in homecare and alternate care units has led to hospitalization of individuals with increasingly critical ailments. This also means that these individuals have increasingly weakend immune systems and are more prone to acquiring nosocomial infections. Therefore, these infections are considered the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in hospitalized patients.

Steps taken to avoid the incidence of HAI include sanitation protocol for uniforms, washing and equipment sterilization. The most effective way to prevent HAI is the practice of hand washing and /or use of alcohol rubs by all medical personnel before and after coming in contact with each patient. Sanitation protocols, as a stand alone measure, cannot completely protect patients from infectious agents. Nosocomial infections are of two types - endogenous and exogenous. Self or auto-infection is known as endogenous infection and exogenous infection results from cross contamination and cross infection.

The spreading of pathogens within a hospital setting can happen through many ways. Endogenous infections occur when the pathogens are asymptomatically carried into the hospital at the time of admission and begin to develop throughout the patient’s hospitalization. Cross contamination, on the other hand, occurs when the patient is exposed to pathogens during his/her stay in the hospital. The most common type of nosocomial infection are Surgical Site Infection (SSI), Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Bloodstream Infection (BSI), and Pneumonia. However, SSI is of key importance to patients undergoing invasive procedures. It is the most common HAI and an estimated 30 million surgical procedures take place every year in Europe.

SSI is one of the leading contributors to all nosocomial infection, and among surgical patients, it accounts for an even higher percentage of all nosocomial infection. The operative procedures, the skill of the surgeon involved and post-operative care are critical factors that influence the non-development of an SSI after a surgical procedure. The costs borne as a result of SSI s are immense. It affects hospitals, the community, patients, healthcare services and the government.

Surgical infection control refers to the measures taken by hospitals, healthcare practitioners and government health bodies to impede and control the spread of infectious disease as a result of surgical procedures. The surgical infection control market has been divided into: hand disinfectants, Skin and mucous membrane disinfectants, and wound disinfectants. The hand disinfectants market refers to the surgical disinfectant gels and scrubs market.

MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that frequently lives in the skin or in the nose of a person. It can cause a range of illnesses, from minor skin infection, such as pimples, impetigo (may also be caused by streptococcus pyogenes), boils, cellulitis folliculitis, furuncles, carbuncles, scalded skin syndrome, and abscesses, to life-threatening diseases, such as pneumonia, meningitis, osteomyelitis endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and septicemia. MRSA was discovered in 1961 in the United Kingdom. It is often referred to as a "superbug". Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causes of nosocomial infection, causing post-surgical wound infection. MRSA is a resistant variation of Staphylococcus aureus.

A survey conducted by the Hospital Infection Society (HIS) in collaboration with the Infection Control Nurse Association (ICNA) within England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland in 2006 reported an overall healthcare associated infections (HCAI) prevalence of fewer than 10% for the four nations. Many initiatives have been taken across member states in the EU to address and tackle the growing concern of nosocomial infection. For example, in the United Kingdom, the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), along with the NHS, has undertaken the 'clean your hands campaign‘, which aims to improve patient safety by educating health care professionals across the country about the importance of hand hygiene measures.

Nosocomial infection has a high prevalence in France and SSI accounts for most cases. An estimated 9,000 deaths occur in France due to nosocomial infection. Budgetary constraints in health care is one of the major issues that France faces in the implementation of infection control measures. The French national insurance system has been running constant deficits since 1985. However, between 2005 and 2008, health facilities have doubled their annual consumption of aqueous-alcoholic solutions for hand hygiene. This indicates that compliance has been taken as a serious issue by the French Government, and measures have been put in place to make health facilities 100 per cent compliant.

Nosocomial infection has a lower prevalence in Germany with SSI accounting for most incidences. Germany faces a shortage of doctors specializing in infectious disease. The lack of infrastructure and inadequate number of trained staff to mitigate infectious disease makes this country more prone to infectious diseases. In Spain, nosocomial infection prevalence is similar to Germany where, SSI accounts for an even higher percentage of infection incidences. Spain has registered a very high percentage of death rates from nosocomial infection. Compliance has been a major issue for hospitals in Spain with respect to infectious disease control. Smaller hospitals and lack of training and knowledge have given rise to an increase in nosocomial infection-related diseases in Spain. Nosocomial infection has a similar prevalence in Italy. Compliance is found to be lacking in Italian hospitals for infectious disease control procedures due to the lack of official policies and procedures. Surveillance and quality control measures have not been undertaken as well.

Since hand hygiene is considered a key component of infection control, the hand disinfectant market has seen significant growth in the last five years (2004-2009). The numbers of companies specializing in infection control have also increased. With increasing awareness of HAI and infection control due to hand hygiene programs by WHO and NHS, the hand hygiene market for domestic as well as healthcare disinfection is slated to continue its growth trend. Companies that offer multiple infection control solutions such as hand, skin, mucous membrane, instruments, and surface disinfectants are better equipped to deal with disinfectant use regulations. The H1N1 viral incidence has also led to an increased stress on infection control and a resultant growth in the infection control market. However, the stringent regulations of the European market as compared to the American market, has been a deterrent to new entrants. Despite heavy regulations the infection control market is likely to continue its growth trend, providing market participants with multiple growth opportunities.