When patients check into a hospital, they expect treatment that will send them home healthier. But for thousands each year, the hospital stay itself becomes a source of danger—infections acquired during medical care. Some of these infections can lead to sepsis, extend hospitalization, and even cause death.
According to Prof. Yehuda Carmeli, director of the National Center for Infection Control and Antibiotic Resistance at the Health Ministry: “We’re talking about a complication of medical treatment that sometimes saves lives, but can also endanger them. Our job is to make every effort to prevent these complications.”
The Health Ministry has now released its 2025 infection prevention reports, showing that the national infection prevention program successfully prevented an estimated 4,668 hospital-acquired infections, 1,319 potential deaths, saved more than 30,000 hospitalization days, and cut roughly 300 million shekels (~$100 million) in healthcare costs.
According to the ministry, these achievements stem from a national program running for over a decade that includes continuous infection monitoring, nationwide oversight, medical staff training, targeted interventions in high-risk departments, and incentives for hospitals to pursue continuous improvement.
One key metric tracked is hospital-acquired sepsis—one of the most serious complications of infection during hospitalization. Since the nationwide intervention began in 2012, the rate has dropped by roughly 52%, from 5.3 to 2.6 cases per thousand ICU hospitalization days. In 2025 alone, more than 1,150 cases of hospital-acquired sepsis were prevented.
Following this improvement, the Health Ministry tightened the national target for central line-associated infections, from 1.9 to 1.3 cases per thousand catheter days. However, the ministry notes that in recent years no improvement has been recorded in neonatal units, pediatric ICUs, and neurosurgery, so these areas will remain a focus of intervention.
Significant declines were also recorded in urinary tract infections. In internal medicine and surgical departments, infection rates dropped 44%-60% compared to 2016, and in acute geriatric departments they fell 18%-33%. According to the Health Ministry’s estimates, this translates to prevention of roughly 1,700 infections annually in monitored departments.
The Health Ministry also released the 2025 National Antibiogram, presenting the picture of bacterial resistance to antibiotics in Israel. The data shows that on most metrics Israel presents similar figures—and in some cases better—compared to European countries. Still, the ministry emphasizes that continuing the fight against antibiotic resistance requires reducing unnecessary antibiotic use and continued investment in infection prevention.
Alongside the achievements, the Health Ministry stresses that the challenge is far from over. Hospital-acquired infections continue to affect roughly 5% of hospitalized patients in Israel and lead to thousands of patient deaths annually. Most are related to complications of medical treatment, but a significant portion can be prevented through strict hand hygiene, judicious antibiotic use, continuous monitoring, and implementation of infection prevention protocols.
The Health Ministry says that in 2026 it will expand efforts to reduce infections through incentive programs and targeted interventions in hospitals and long-term care facilities, aiming to continue reducing infection rates and improving patient safety.