Characterising health care-associated bloodstream infections in public hospitals in Queensland, 2008–2012

Si and colleagues1 are commended for reporting on the bloodstream infection (BSI) surveillance in 23 Queensland public hospitals via the Centre for Healthcare Related Infection Surveillance and Prevention (2008–2012). Bloodstream infections are significant in terms of the need for intravenous antibiotics and hospitalisation, and estimating the burden of illness can reflect emerging trends. However, our experience of targeted BSI monitoring in Victorian hospitals indicates that health care-associated infection surveillance should also provide meaningful data to inform prevention programs. We note that Si and colleagues reported some data that appear reliant on non-standardised surveillance methodology, and some measures that may not facilitate action at the hospital level.