US demand for infection prevention products and services will advance 4.0 percent annually to $16.8 billion in 2011. Growth will reflect increasing government and private pressures on the medical community to alleviate the widespread problem of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). Each year, HAIs afflict 2.3 million hospital and ambulatory patients and directly or indirectly lead to 99,000 deaths. These and other trends are presented in Infection Prevention Products & Services, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

The need for improved infection prevention strategies also exists throughout the life science sector. Stricter FDA standards for product quality control and quality assurance are forcing pharmaceutical and medical device producers to upgrade and expand sterilization and disinfection systems. The increasing use of biotechnology-derived microorganisms in investigative and testing procedures is broadening the infection prevention requirements of life science research and medical diagnostic concerns.

Among all infection prevention supplies, products used in surgery will continue to post the largest share of revenues. The elevated risk of transmitting air- and blood-borne pathogens in the operating room, coupled with upward trends in the number of operative procedures, will increase demand for surgical drapes and gowns 3.6 percent annually to $3.9 billion in 2011. Expanding preferences for enhanced barrier, level 4 textiles (which provide the strongest protection against pathogens) will impact favorably on growth. Cost containment pressures and advances in less invasive surgical techniques will moderate a faster rise in demand.

Disinfectants consumed by health care and life science facilities will comprise a $2.8 billion market in 2011. Pressures on health care facilities to adopt stricter staff hygiene and facility cleaning and disinfection practices will bolster gains. Additionally, growth in surgical procedures will boost the market for scrubs, patient preparations and instrument disinfectants. Health care and life science markets for sterilization supplies, equipment and services will post moderate growth as medical providers and producers adopt stricter protocols to ensure the safety of new and reprocessed products. Stepped up efforts to prevent the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to and from staff personnel will boost demand for medical and laboratory gloves, face masks and other protective apparel, especially in the health care sector.