GSA Executive Committee member Prof. Flavia Machado was interviewed by the JAMA Network  on "Coronavirus in Brazil - Report From The Front Lines".

The interview provides a very insightful overview on how Brazil is tackling the pandemic, the efficiency of treatments, and solutions adopted by hospitals to respond to the crisis. Interestingly, Prof. Machado confirmed that in most cases people are dying from refractory septic shock rather than refractory hypoxemia.

Besides, she noted that the usual differences between high (HICs) - and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 85% of sepsis cases occur, are not so visible with COVID-19, in fact, the most affected countries are HICs. 

Prof. Machado is chair of the intensive care session of Anesthesiology, Pain and Intensive Care Department at the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, and CEO of the Latin America Sepsis Institute (LASI). 

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The rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused societal, economic, and medical upheaval not seen since the 1918 influenza pandemic. As of April 7th, the World Health Organization has confirmed cases in 203 countries, areas or territories, with over 1.2 million confirmed cases and over 65,000 deaths.  Further, many experts believe these numbers to be a gross underestimate for a variety of reasons, including inadequate testing capacity and suboptimal reporting of cases. Despite extensive modeling by epidemiologists all over the world, it is not possible to accurately predict the course and duration of this pandemic. It is important that we continue to obtain objective data on which we base recommendations. A calm and rational approach from both society and individuals is necessary during these uncertain times. There remains considerable confusion regarding the differences between seasonal influenza and COVID-19 (the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2). While both viruses are capable of causing severe illness and can spread rapidly, it appears that SARS-CoV-2 is a more deadly pathogen on a case-by-case basis, can be spread during the asymptomatic phase, and is capable of much more rapid spread. The higher burden and mortality may be attributed to the fact that SARS-CoV-2 is a “newly emerged” virus, and consequently, there is very little innate immunity to it among humans, unlike with influenza where both prior infection and annual vaccination can provide protection. Overall, however, the sheer contagiousness of this new virus has led to the high morbidity and mortality seen globally – simply put, healthcare systems have been unable to cope with the number of infected persons seeking care. Indeed, a proportion of the reported deaths are due to overwhelmed medical systems rather than the virulence of COVID-19. This is a crucial factor explaining the “flatten the curve” strategy adopted by many countries. 

Now that more scientific data are available on COVID-19, the European Sepsis Alliance can more definitively state that COVID-19 does indeed cause sepsis. Sepsis is “a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection.” In the case of COVID-19, the effects on the respiratory system are well-known, with most people requiring hospital admission developing pneumonia of varying severity; however, virtually all other organ systems can be affected. This is consistent with a combination of direct viral invasion and sepsis. For example, in a recently published case series of severe COVID-19 cases from the Seattle area in the United States, over 30% had evidence of liver injury and 75% had evidence of a depressed immune response¹; another series from the same region reported acute kidney failure in almost 20% of affected patients requiring ICU care ², and both series reported septic shock severe enough to require drugs to support the heart and circulation in almost 70% of patients. A recent study from China reported that in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 28% had evidence of significant heart damage (potentially from direct invasion of cardiac muscle by the virus), resulting in heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms – this damage was associated with a five-fold increase in the risk of death³. As there are no proven therapies effective against the virus itself, it is apparent that the best COVID-19 care includes good sepsis care.

Effective and safe treatments for COVID-19 are urgently being sought by scientists across the world. Although it is hoped that the first batches of a COVID-19 vaccine will begin to be tested in humans in April 2020⁴, large-scale distribution of a viable vaccine may still be a year or more away. Treatment trials are underway with antiviral agents such as Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), Hydroxychloroquine (HCG), Hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin, Favipiravir (FPV), Remdesivir (RDV), and with immunomodulators such as Tocilizumab, the anti-C5a antibody IFX-1, and Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG). In addition, potential treatment with convalescent serum is being attempted and trialed.

However, despite these efforts, presently there are no specific treatments for COVID-19. As such, the European Sepsis Alliance continues to strongly advocate for strict adherence to the basic protective measures recommended by the WHO – handwashing, maintaining social distancing, avoiding touching one’s face, practicing proper respiratory hygiene, staying at home if feeling unwell, and obtaining prompt medical care if fever, cough, and breathing difficulty develop together. We also recommend close attention and adherence to the restrictions on social gatherings set by local health authorities and government bodies. We encourage you to assess the particular challenges faced by the healthcare systems in your area, and if you are able to materially assist in any way (including something as simple as volunteering to be a blood donor), please do so. We are in this together. Be safe.

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This article was published on April 7th, 2020, with the most recent data from the WHO Situation Report from April 6th, 2020 - we expect both cases and deaths to rise further. The views in this news post are not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Special thanks to Nathan Nielsen, Niranjan ‘Tex’ Kissoon, Konrad Reinhart, Dennis Kredler, Mahawi Aljuaid, and Simon Finfer for helping to put this article together.

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References

¹ (Bhatraju PK, et al. NEJM 2020)
² (Arentz M, et al. JAMA 2020)
³ (Guo T, et al. JAMA 2020)
⁴ https://time.com/5790545/first-COVID-19-vaccine/

Sepsisfonden is a Swedish sepsis trust that started in 2015. Since the start, one of their main objectives has been to increase awareness around sepsis in Sweden.

This spring, they have launched a school project where they target young people in their awareness work, especially kids in the ages around 13 to 17. The first step has been producing a film that explains how the immune system works and what happens when you develop sepsis, embedded above.

Later this year, they will also send out a pedagogical material to all science teachers, teaching in year 8 (kids around 14 years), together with this film, and encourage them to take the time to talk about sepsis in class.

The video from the 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance is now available to watch on demand - embedded above. Please use the chapter markers (available in the description box on YouTube) to go directly to the speaker/debate you are interested in most.

Over the course of about 3 hours, we heard presentations from sepsis survivors, representatives from the European Commission and WHO, patient safety advocates, sepsis researchers, clinicians, and more. Additionally, we had two panel debates, one on the state of national sepsis plans, and one on how to build support for survivors and families.

The European Sepsis Alliance was founded under the patronage of the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, at our event “Sepsis - A Call to EU Action” in March 2018 and is one of the regional sepsis alliances of the Global Sepsis Alliance.

The ESA Working Group Patient and Family Support is thrilled to release the “Life After Sepsis”-Guide - a free downloadable brochure that aims at guiding survivors and their families, who are the most vulnerable when sepsis occurs. It also wants to inform the general public, patients, their relatives, and healthcare professionals about sepsis. The brochure explains that there is a need for an urgent response to the consequences of sepsis, including lifelong disabilities. It is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice, but rather to ensure that more people are better equipped to recognize sepsis, prevent it, and cope with its long-lasting effects.

As always, we are looking forward to hearing your feedback, including suggestions for improvements.

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Update March 26th: The recording from the meeting is now available.

Original article:

The free livestream from the 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance starts on Monday, March 23rd, 2020, at 13:00 Central European Time.

Over the course of about 3 hours, we will hear presentations from sepsis survivors, representatives from the European Commission and WHO, patient safety advocates, sepsis researchers, clinicians, and more. Additionally, we will have two panel debates, one on the state of national sepsis plans, and one on how to build support for survivors and families.

The meeting takes place completely online, with all speakers, panelists, and moderators presenting from the comfort and safety of their own homes or offices. As a participant, you can join from wherever you have an internet connection, including asking live questions to the speakers and panelists.

The European Sepsis Alliance was founded under the patronage of the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, at our event “Sepsis - A Call to EU Action” in March 2018 and is one of the regional sepsis alliances of the Global Sepsis Alliance.

Update March 26th: The recording from the meeting is now available.

Original article:

The 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance will take place completely online on March 23rd, 2020. There will not be a physical meeting in Brussels. Speakers and panelists will speak from the comfort and safety of their own homes or offices, and you can follow along live and for free on our website, including the ability to ask live questions to the speakers, panelists, and moderators. A sign-up is not required.

The program and the timing will stay identical (minus the welcome reception and coffee break…). We will kick-off on Monday, March 23rd at 13:00h Central European Time.

If you sign-up using the form on our website, we will notify you once the livestream starts. Again, registration is not mandatory and the stream will freely be available to anyone visiting our website. It will be embedded at europeansepsisalliance.org/annualmeeting.

The European Sepsis Alliance was founded under the patronage of the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, at our event “Sepsis - A Call to EU Action” in March 2018 and is one of the regional sepsis alliances of the Global Sepsis Alliance.

Update April 7th: While the article below was factually correct at the time of publication, it has become outdated (as many things that were written or said a month ago – an updated version is available here.

Original article:

On January 30th, the World Health Organization declared the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2*) a global health emergency, declaring it an “unprecedented outbreak.” Legitimate concerns of a deadly pandemic have increased due to the virus continuing to spread worldwide, with cases reported in 73 countries spanning across Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

As with every major public health crisis, misinformation and fear run rampant. The importance of fact-based information is tantamount. To this end, the European Sepsis Alliance would like to provide the following answer to the question of whether COVID-19 can cause sepsis. The answer is a qualified “YES.”

The presently accepted definition of sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. From information presently available on clinical cases of COVID-19, it appears that a small percentage of COVID-19 infections can result in such organ dysfunction and death.

To date, the most reliable information on the clinical syndrome resulting from COVID-19 comes from recently published data out of Wuhan, China and was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on February 7, 2020. The most common symptoms attributed to COVID-19 infection requiring hospitalization were fever, fatigue, and a dry cough. A majority of cases also had low white blood cell counts and abnormal blood clotting parameters. Of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 26% were sick enough to be treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) – of these, approximately 60% developed respiratory failure and 31% developed shock. Prolonged hospital courses were not uncommon. Fortunately, even among patients ill enough to be hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, only 4% died – meaning that even among hospitalized COVID-19 cases, nearly 96% have survived. Broader epidemiological data from both inside and outside China also support a case fatality rate of about 1%.

However, despite the attention being paid to COVID-19, it is important to realize that it is by no means the deadliest infection globally in 2020. It is not even the deadliest virus. Fewer than 3,200 deaths have been attributed in total to COVID-19. In comparison, the influenza virus has been responsible for at least 16,000 deaths in the United States alone so far in the 2019-2020 influenza season, with an in-hospital death rate near 5% – higher than the 4% in-hospital death rate seen with COVID-19 in China. As an additional frame of reference, recent estimates place the annual deaths due to sepsis worldwide in excess of 11 million.

Treatments and vaccines are being sought with urgency but are unlikely to be available within the next year. In the meantime, all individuals, particularly those in areas where the COVID-19 has already struck, should focus on the basic protective measures recommended by the WHO – handwashing, maintaining social distancing, avoiding touching one’s face, practicing proper respiratory hygiene, staying at home if feeling unwell, and obtaining prompt medical care if the triad of fever, cough, and breathing difficulty develop.

In conclusion, while the fears of a COVID-19 pandemic are legitimate, it is the view of the ESA that robust and appropriately funded healthcare systems, having already improved the survival rates for sepsis significantly over the past two decades, will be able to adequately identify and manage patients with emerging infections such as COVID-19. Additionally, while the majority of individuals affected by COVID-19 will not develop life-threatening sepsis, the global threat posed by COVID-19 does underpin the need for all citizens and healthcare workers to ensure they are familiar with the early signs of sepsis and appreciate that sepsis can be caused by a multitude of infections, such as this novel coronavirus, other viral infections, seasonal influenza viruses, or common bacterial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract, abdominal, or wound infections. Never has the slogan of the World Sepsis Day Movement rung truer than now – Stop Sepsis, Save Lives.

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This article was published on March 4th, 2020, with the most recent data from the WHO Situation Report from March 3rd, 2020. The views in this news post are not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Special thanks to Nathan Nielsen, Luis Gorordo Del Sol, Emmanuel Nsutebu, and Simon Finfer for helping to put this article together.

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*For simplicity, we’ll refer to the virus as COVID-19, even though it’s technically SARS-CoV-2, and the disease it can cause is COVID-19 (by analogy: HIV = virus, AIDS = the disease it can cause).

Update March 12th: The meeting will take place completely online - livestreamed to you at europeansepsisalliance.org/annualmeeting - more info here.

Update March 4th: The timing of our event has changed slightly to due logistic reasons - we now start at 13:00, with a welcome lunch and registration at 12:15. The new timing is reflected in the new program below. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Original article:

On Monday, March 23rd, 2020, the European Sepsis Alliance will hold its 3rd Annual Meeting in Brussels, Belgium. You are hereby cordially invited to join us and many prestigious speakers at this important event.

The event will provide an opportunity to hear from policymakers about how public policy can tackle sepsis, listen to updates on the fight against sepsis in countries who have undertaken significant steps, and discuss with survivors and experts what it takes to fight sepsis effectively on the national, community, and healthcare facility level.

Event Details:

• 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance

• Monday, March 23rd, 2020, 12:15 to 16:15h

• Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union in Brussels (Rue Jacques de Lalaing 8-14, 1040 Brussels, Metro: Arts-Loi / Maalbeek)

Due to limited seating capacity, please sign up at your earliest convenience. We look forward to welcoming you at the event and have a fruitful discussion, in order to foster the fight against sepsis in Europe together!

The European Sepsis Alliance was founded under the patronage of the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, at our event “Sepsis - A Call to EU Action” in March 2018.

Twice as many people are dying from sepsis worldwide than previously estimated, according to a groundbreaking study by an international team of scientists published in The Lancet today. Among them are a disproportionately high number of children in poor areas.

This study, the most comprehensive clinical study on sepsis to date, revealed 48.9 million cases of sepsis in 2017 and 11 million deaths. 1 in 5 deaths globally are associated with sepsis. Sepsis arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. It may lead to shock, multi-organ failure, and death – especially if not recognized early and treated promptly. For sepsis survivors, it can create lifelong disabilities and suffering.

It was found that about 85% of sepsis cases occurred in low- or middle-income countries – especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the South Pacific islands, and South, East, and Southeast Asia. While sepsis incidence is higher among females than males, more than 40% of all cases are occurring in children under 5.

“I’ve worked in rural Uganda, and sepsis is what we saw every single day. Watching a baby die of a disease that could have been prevented with basic public health measures really sticks with you. I want to contribute to solving this tragedy, so I participate in research on sepsis. However, how can we know if we’re making progress if we don’t even know the size of the problem? If you look at any top 10 list of deaths globally, sepsis is not listed because it hasn’t been counted.”

— LEAD AUTHOR KRISTINA E. RUDD, M.D., M.P.H., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT PITT’S DEPARTMENT OF CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE”

For their analysis, Rudd and colleagues leveraged the Global Burden of Disease Study, a comprehensive epidemiological analysis coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IMHE) at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Previous global estimates for sepsis relied upon hospital databases from select middle- and high-income countries, making them severely limited and prone to overlooking the occurrence outside of the hospital, especially in low-income countries.

“We are alarmed to find sepsis deaths are much higher than previously estimated, especially as the condition is both preventable and treatable. We need renewed focus on sepsis prevention among newborns and on tackling antimicrobial resistance, an important driver of the condition.”

— SENIOR AUTHOR MOHSEN NAGHAVI, M.D., PH.D., M.P.H., PROFESSOR OF HEALTH METRICS SCIENCES AT IHME AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF MEDICINE”

Although the number of cases are much higher than previously estimated, it is important to note that great international and collaborative work has been done worldwide in the past decades to fight sepsis. These efforts are conveyed in the study which examined annual sepsis incidence and mortality trends from 1990 to 2017. The study found that rates are actually decreasing. In 1990, there were an estimated 60.2 million sepsis cases and 15.7 million deaths, compared to the 48.9 million cases and 11 million deaths in 2017. However, the study highlights we still have a long way to go in the global fight against sepsis and we need to continue to build upon the work being done worldwide.

“This research confirms the urgent need for policymakers, healthcare providers, clinicians, and researchers to work together to implement robust national sepsis strategies, as called for in the 2017 WHO Resolution on Sepsis.”

— KONRAD REINHART, PRESIDENT GLOBAL SEPSIS ALLIANCE”

This research was funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (grants T32HL007287, T32HL007820, R35GM119519), the University of Pittsburgh, the British Columbia Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Fleming Fund.

A comprehensive press release, a template for a press release, and a contact person for media inquiries is available on the website of our friends at World Sepsis Day.

The Titanic in Belfast, venue of the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2020

The most comprehensive clinical study on sepsis will be released in The Lancet this Thursday, January 16th, 2020 at 18:05h Central European Time. This research contains the most far-reaching and up-to-date data on the incidence and mortality of sepsis worldwide. This study has the potential to change health policy and disease management all around the world, in both developing and under-developed countries.

The results of said study will be presented at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting this Thursday, January 16th, 2020, at 16:35h Belfast Time (17:35h Central European Time, please click here to see to the event in your time zone). There will be a livestream* available (embedded below for your viewing convenience), where you’ll be able to follow along. We urge you to tune in and share the link with your colleagues and other interested parties.

As soon as the presentation has concluded, we’ll share the new numbers on the global burden of sepsis, as well as further documentation.

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Livestream

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*Livestreams are tricky, especially when being set up in advance. If the link doesn’t work on the day of the event, we’ll make sure to update it promptly, so stay tuned.

The European Sepsis Alliance is happy to support the Joint Call on Patient Safety and HAI Prevention and Control. A healthcare-associated infection (HAI) is an infection that occurs in a patient during the process of care in a hospital or healthcare facility, which was not present (or incubating) at the time of admission to said facility.

About 20% of sepsis cases can be attributed to HAIs – the remaining 80% are contracted outside of a healthcare facility. Therefore, preventing infections in hospitals is a crucial step to improve patient safety and decrease both sepsis cases and the overuse of antibiotics. Every infection prevented is an antibiotic treatment avoided.

Update March 12th: The meeting will take place completely online - livestreamed to you at europeansepsisalliance.org/annualmeeting - more info here.

Original article:
The 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance will take place on Monday, March 23rd, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. Please save the date - the venue, exact time, and program will be announced in early 2020. The 40th ISICEM (International Symposium on Intensive Care & Emergency Medicine) will be held from March 24th to 27th in the Square Brussels Convention Center.

The European Sepsis Alliance was founded under the patronage of the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, at our event “Sepsis - A Call to EU Action” in March 2018 and is part of the GSA strategy to establish 6 regional sepsis alliances spanning the world, implementing the demands of the WHO Resolution on Sepsis, and saving lives. The 2nd Annual Meeting of the ESA was held in March 2019.

Our website now supports your operating systems native dark mode - depending on the settings of your device, this website will be either light or dark, making it more user friendly and easier on the eyes when viewed at night. Please note that you need to use a relatively modern browser for this to work.

How to Enable Dark Mode

Enabling dark mode depends on your device. Here is a quick how-to for the most common operating systems:

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iOS / iPad OS (iPhone / iPad)

1. Make sure you have at least iOS 13.0 installed (you can check in Settings -> General -> Info)

2. Access control center (by swiping down from the top right on Face ID enabled devices or from the bottom up on devices with a home button)

3. Long press on the brightness slider and tap the dark mode icon at the bottom left

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Android (can be different depending on manufacturer)

1. Make sure you have at least Android 10 installed (you can check in Settings -> About Phone -> Software Information)

2. Open the settings app

3. Navigate to Display -> Theme and enable ‘Dark Theme’ (you can also add a tile to the quick settings pull-down menu)

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Mac

1. Make sure you have at least macOS Mojave (10.14) installed (you can check by clicking on the Apple Menu at the top left, and then ‘About this Mac’)

2. Open the settings app and navigate to General

3. Use the buttons at the top to switch between a dark and a light appearance (with macOS Catalina (10.15), you can also set this to automatic, based on sunset at your location)

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Windows

1. Make sure you have at least Windows 10 installed (you can check by clicking on the Start Button -> Settings -> System -> About)

2. Open the settings app and go to Personalization -> Colors

3. Under ‘Choose your default app mode’, choose Dark

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Feedback

We are constantly improving our websites, dark mode is just one of many improvements (although a big one). If you have issues with dark mode, have ideas to improve our websites further, or have other feedback, we’d love to hear from you. If you are interested how we implement dark mode, there is a tutorial on the World Sepsis Day website.

In May 2018, the French Director-General of Health, Prof. Jérôme Salomon, appointed Prof. Djillali Annane to write a report on improving the prevention, diagnosis, and management of sepsis in France.

Prof. Annane, recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on sepsis and member of the steering committee of the European Sepsis Alliance, worked with virtually all stakeholders in France, including many medical societies, to develop a comprehensive plan to action. Among the 10 recommendations made in the report, priority is given to raising awareness among the public and health professionals to detect the signs of sepsis as early as possible, as well as to implement a specific sepsis care pathway, adapted to all ages of life.

In 2017, the World Health Assembly and the World Health Organization made sepsis a global health priority by adopting a resolution to improve, prevent, diagnose, and manage sepsis. This resolution was spearheaded by the Global Sepsis Alliance and urges UN Member States to implement appropriate measures to reduce the human and health economic burden of sepsis.

This report on sepsis, and the fact that it was commissioned by the French Government, is a promising first step for France and hopefully serves as a blueprint for more countries to develop and implement comprehensive national action plans on sepsis. The GSA supports this process via its regional sepsis alliances and has both experience as well as dedicated staff to help implement national sepsis plans - please contact us if you or your organization is pursuing such plans.

About Sepsis

Sepsis arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. It may lead to shock, multi-organ failure, and death - especially if not recognized early and treated promptly. Sepsis is the final common pathway to death from most infectious diseases worldwide.

Health First Europe and the European Network for Safer Health Care are organizing a roundtable debate to exchange best practices on sepsis and explore new steps to better manage it. This event takes place at the European Parliament (Room PHS1C47) on Wednesday, September 25th, 2019 from 14:30 to 16:30h.

The discussion will focus on successful initiatives at the country level, designed to raise awareness on the burden of sepsis, its implications, and clinical management. It will also provide a best cases’ exchange with the aim to make sepsis a top priority in the agenda of the new legislative term.

There will be keynote speakers from the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, the WHO, the European Society for Emergency Medicine, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Global Sepsis Alliance, among regional authorities and patient representatives.

Today is World Sepsis Day* - countless events in all parts of the world are raising awareness for sepsis today.

In addition to joining local WSD Events, here are some last minute tips to get involved online or in your institution:

Sign the World Sepsis Declaration

It’s like a petition against sepsis - the more people sign it, the better.

Follow World Sepsis Day on Social Media

World Sepsis Day is ‘World Sepsis Day’ on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook - make sure to follow them if you aren’t yet.

Post to Your Social Media

Posting to your personal or company social media account raises awareness and helps to save lives. Templates for posts are below - it’s as simple as copying and pasting. All post are 280 characters or less, meaning they work on Twitter effortlessly. Most work best with a WSD Infographic or a Sepsis Awareness Clip…

• Sepsis is not only a medical #emergency, but also a global health crisis, affecting up to 30 million people a year - September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay. Join us in raising awareness for #sepsis - awareness saves lives! #stopsepsis #savelives

• September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay - I am/We are participating to raise #awareness for #sepsis and #WorldSepsisDay - what are you doing? Start at www.worldsepsisday.org and help #stopsepsis #savelives

• September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay! Sepsis is the final common pathway to death from most infectious diseases worldwide - these are the most common #sources of #sepsis.

• September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay! While everybody can get sepsis, certain people are at an even higher risk. Join us in raising #awareness for #sepsis - awareness saves lives! #stopsepsis #savelives

• September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay! #Sepsis is a medical emergency and must be treated immediately - if you see 2 or more #symptoms, act immediately. #stopsepsis #savelives

• September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay! #Sepsis is the most preventable cause of death worldwide. It can be prevented by #vaccination, #sanitation, and #awareness. Everything depends on #you! Join us and #stopsepsis #savelives

• September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay! #Sepsis does not end at hospital discharge - many #sepsissurvivors face lifelong consequences. Join us to raise awareness! #stopsepsis #savelives

• September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay! Join our global movement now - it is as easy as downloading our free #infographics or #sepsis #awareness clips from www.worldsepsisday.org/toolkits and posting them from your account. Raising awareness starts with #you. #stopsepsis #savelives

• I am participating in the #WorldSepsisDay #Photochallenge to raise awareness for #sepsis, a disease affecting 30 million people annually, but often neglected by #policymakers, the general public, and even #healthcare #professionals - join the global movement to #stopsepsis now!

• September 13th is #WorldSepsisDay - I am participating in the #photochallenge to raise #awareness for #sepsis and #WorldSepsisDay - what are you doing? Start at www.worldsepsisday.org and help #stopsepsis #savelives

Hashtags

The official hashtags for World Sepsis Day are:

• #WorldSepsisDay

• #Sepsis

• #StopSepsis

• #SaveLives

We explicitly discourage using #WorldSepsisDay2019, #WSD19, or #WSD - if we want to ‘trend’, it is imperative we all use the same hashtags.

Infographics, Sepsis Awareness Clips, and More Free Resources

The WSD Toolkit Section has tons of new material - brand-new Sepsis Awareness Clips (covering symptoms, sources, risk groups, and more in about 30 seconds), posters, new wallpapers, and of course our WSD Infographics in six languages, among many other things - all for free and just two clicks away. You can use the material on social media or anywhere else on the internet, or even print it.

WSD Photo Challenge

The WSD Photo Challenge is a quick and easy way to raise awareness for sepsis and show your support for World Sepsis Day - simply print the photo board you like best, write your name on it, take a picture, and upload to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, or wherever you like.

Sepsis in 3 Minutes - Video

The video ‘What Is Sepsis? (Sepsis explained in 3 minutes)’ has been viewed over 200,000 times across all 7 languages - it explains many facets of the complex topic that is sepsis in just 3 minutes.

Please send the video to your loved ones - it could save their life:

Press Release

A press release as well as a press release template is available for you to customize and disseminate in multiple languages.

2019 WSD Event Poster

After World Sepsis Day, the 2019 WSD Event Poster will summarize all events that took place around WSD this year - make sure to take some pictures.

On September 14th, there will be a form available here (URL to bookmark: www.worldsepsisday.org/wsdposter) allowing you to upload a short description of your event and the best picture, to be featured on the poster. The poster will be made available for download later this year, and be printed and shipped to you later this year or early next year.

Donate to World Sepsis Day

The GSA, the organization behind WSD, is a small non-profit charity trying to make the world a better place - every cent helps and will be put to good use.

Thank you

Thank you so much for supporting World Sepsis Day - it really means the world to us.

For any questions, please contact them. Due to sheer volume, please allow them a couple of days to respond.

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*at least in our time zone ;).

Earlier this month, the member organizations of the European Sepsis Alliance elected the new ESA Steering Committee.

The following people were elected to serve a two-year term on the new ESA SC:

• Antonio Artigas, Spain

• Daniela Filipescu, Romania

• Djillali Annane, France

• Evangelos Giamarellos, Greece

• Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Ireland

• Jean Carlet, France

• Konrad Reinhart, Germany

• Massimo Sartelli, Italy

• Ron Daniels, United Kingdom

The ESA is run by a 12-person steering committee, 9 directly elected by our members, plus the three coordinators of the ESA Working Groups. Given the important work of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the Chair of the SIS-Section of ESICM is a member of the ESA Steering Committee for the first election period as well, in addition to the 12 regular members. The ESA is supported by the WSD Head Office.

Welcome to the new website of the European Sepsis Alliance - we hope you like it. 
We are just getting started, so please excuse it looking a little rough around the edges.

If you want to contribute, join, or get in touch, please contact us!

This article was originally published on the website of the Global Sepsis Alliance, before the website of the ESA existed. It has been retroactively published here for the sake of completeness.

On Monday, March 18th, 2019, we hosted the 2nd Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance in Brussels.

Sepsis survivors, policy makers, representatives of the European Commission, researchers, representatives of European healthcare societies, as well as other important stakeholders all gathered in the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia to the European Union to discuss how to jointly support the European Sepsis Alliance to accelerate the fight against sepsis in Europe. Besides presentations by Konrad Reinhart, Vida Hamilton, and Necmettin Unal, John McCarthy, sepsis survivor and representative of the UK Sepsis Trust and Shahrzad Kiavash, sepsis survivor and double-amputee triathlete, shared their personal stories of their encounter with sepsis and the achievements of the UK Sepsis Trust in the UK, respectively.

In the second part of the event, the panel discussion ‘Why We Need a Call for Action in Europe – the Patient Perspective’ made the voices of patients heard, a crucial and often underestimated component in the fight against sepsis. Our thanks go to Shahrzad Kiavash, Dennis Kredler, John McCarthy, Idelette Nutma, Aurica Pripa, and Arne Trumann for participating in the panel discussion, as well as to Christiane Hartog for moderating it so very thoughtfully.

The second panel discussion, chaired by MEP José Inácio Faria, explored the need for a comprehensive strategy to tackle infection prevention, sepsis, and antimicrobial resistance.

The 2nd Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance was rounded off by two working groups, on research on epidemiology and quality of sepsis care in Europe and advocacy and policy.

On behalf of the European Sepsis Alliance and the Global Sepsis Alliance, we call for a comprehensive One Health Pan-European Infection Management Strategy that:

• considers the intrinsic links between antimicrobial resistance, infection prevention/control, and sepsis control and care

• understands the importance of overcoming silos within systems by initiating dialogue between sepsis advocacy groups, sepsis survivors, experts and professional societies and representatives of the European Commission, Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the ECDC, and the WHO together with representatives and advocates of the AMR and IPC agendas

• promotes awareness of sepsis and the potential of sepsis prevention by increasing vaccination rates and access to clean care, and to clean water, sanitation and hygiene where these are lacking

• educates laypeople and healthcare workers about early recognition of sepsis

• fosters the improvement of sepsis diagnosis and management by evidence-based sepsis management, improvement methodologies and systems resource and design

• supports research and the better application of interoperability to existing national or regional patient-level datasets to better understand the epidemiology and burden of sepsis and AMR

• and considers that AMR, IPC, and sepsis control and care are collectively a major health threat which must become an integral and cohesive part of any national, regional, and global healthcare strategy

The European Sepsis Alliance was founded under the patronage of the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, at our event “Sepsis - A Call to EU Action” in March 2018 and is part of the GSA strategy to establish 6 regional sepsis alliances spanning the world, implementing the demands of the WHO Resolution on Sepsis, and saving lives.