Israeli Health Ministry Reports Over 1,300 Lives Saved Amid Infection Control Challenges During War

The Israeli Ministry of Health released its 2025 annual infection prevention report on Thursday, revealing a complex situation in public healthcare. The report highlights a significant achievement: approximately 1,319 deaths were prevented last year due to hospital-acquired infections, thanks to national programs and strict adherence to protocols.

However, the ongoing war posed unprecedented challenges. The need to relocate entire hospital wards, ventilated patients, and premature infants to underground shelters severely hindered efforts to maintain sterility and control infection risks. The report focused on critical intensive care unit (ICU) infection indicators.

In the sepsis infection rate, the English Hospital in Nazareth, Laniado, Shamir Medical Center, and Soroka led with the lowest infection rates. Conversely, Shaare Zedek, Beilinson, Sheba, Hadassah Ein Kerem, and Meir hospitals ranked lowest. For bloodstream infections related to central venous catheters, several hospitals including the English Hospital, Soroka, Kaplan, Poriya, Yoseftal, Galilee Medical Center, and Bnei Zion reported zero cases. Hadassah Ein Kerem recorded the worst rate nationally, followed by Meir, Mayanei Hayeshua, Beilinson, Rambam, Shaare Zedek, and Sharon Medical Center.

While adult wards showed consistent improvement, the Ministry expressed deep concern over neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), where infection rates stagnated and national targets remain unmet in some institutions. NICUs with zero infections included Wolfson, Hillel Yaffe, Galilee Medical Center, Bnei Zion, Emek, Carmel, Ziv, Poriya, and Laniado. Hospitals lagging behind included Nazareth, Rambam, Barzilai, Shamir, and Hadassah Ein Kerem.

The report also examined urinary tract infections in internal medicine wards. Hadassah Mount Scopus led among large and medium hospitals, followed by Meir, Wolfson, Barzilai, and Laniado. Smaller hospitals like Yoseftal, the English Hospital in Nazareth, and Holy Family Hospital in Nazareth reported zero cases. Kaplan, Shaare Zedek, Galilee Medical Center, and Sheba were at the bottom nationally.

Professor Yehuda Carmeli, head of the National Center for Infection Prevention at the Ministry, explained that the war forced medical institutions to operate in protected spaces, complicating infection control. He noted that in a few hospitals, bacterial outbreaks occurred and were often detected only after returning to regular wards post-shelter.