This review focuses on the present state of the art in the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) in Europe and discusses both the European Union (EU) recommendations and laws and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) programmes. The standards for countries and organizations to recommended effective control and prevention of HAI are also discussed. These standards have evolved from a range of activities (e. g. scientific and professional societies, national and regional authorities, and voluntary accreditation bodies). Finally competencies for infection control/hospital hygiene (IC/HH) professionals, agreed at the European level, are summarized according to different professional responsibilities and compared with standards developed outside Europe. Training of healthcare workers in IC/HH is recognized as a fundamental requirement to achieving a safer delivery of healthcare.
