Hospital Associated Infections (HAI) or infections arising as a result of admission and treatment in a hospital can be one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in hospitalised patients. The hazard extends to the staff working in hospitals and also into the community at large. This has become more important in today's changing environment, dealing with the threats of newly emerging pathogens and the widespread dissemination of old pathogens. Each year more is learnt about hospital infection control as a science, yet the human input is never so important as now to keep pace with the challenges of modern medicine and sophisticated therapeutic modalities many of which cause a significant increase in patient population susceptible to hospital infection.

The prevention, control and treatment of such infection is a concern of all health care professionals working in a hospital including microbiologists, clinical specialists from various disciplines of medicine and surgery, medical and nursing administrators.

The Hospital Infection Society - India is an association of medical professionals with a special interest in the prevention and control of hospital infection. HISI was founded in 1991 and is registered with Registrar of Societies at Delhi.