Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB), also known as golden staph bloodstream infection, associated with hospital care is an important measure of the safety of hospital care. The aim is to have as few cases of SAB as possible. One of the most effective ways to minimise the risk of SAB and other healthcare-associated infections is good hand hygiene.
In 2010–11, there were 1,873 cases of SAB reported for Australian public hospitals overall. More than two-thirds (73%) were methicillin sensitive, and would have been treatable with commonly used antibiotics.
The cases occurred during approximately 17 million days of patient care under SAB surveillance during 2010–11.
All states and territories had rates of SAB below the national benchmark of 2.0 cases per 10,000 patient days, ranging from 0.9 cases per 10,000 patient days in Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory to 1.4 in the Northern Territory (Figure 28).