We invite you to participate in the Sepsis CamPetition 2017, which will culminate with a presentation of all videos and an award for the winners on World Sepsis Day in Jena, Germany.
The theme of the contest is, of course, sepsis. We invite everyone who wants to contribute to sepsis awareness and improve early detection and treatment, whether you are a doctor, student, school class, communicators, video makers, YouTubers, etc, to join. The videos can deal with the all aspects of sepsis: medical background, scientific facts and current research, social aspects, symptoms, prevention, personal experiences - it is left to your creativity. Everything is possible, as long as the relation to sepsis is clear.
There are no limits on how the themes are implemented, either;  animation or real film, cellphone camera or camcorder, black and white or color, documentation or fiction, music videos - the charm lies in the multitude of possibilities. The only restriction is that they must be compatible with YouTube, since that is where the films will be uploaded and presented.
The three best videos, the best video created by people under 20,  and the audience prize from the online voting will be awarded.

For more info and registration please click here.

On Friday, May 26th, 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 marks a quantum leap in the global fight against sepsis.

Sepsis, commonly referred to as ‘blood poisoning’, is the life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection results in organ dysfunction or failure.  Sepsis is often confused with other conditions in its early stages, with delayed recognition of the signs and symptoms quickly leading to multi-system organ failure and ultimately death.

The resolution urges the 194 United Nation Member States to implement appropriate measures to reduce the human and health economic burden of sepsis. In the USA alone, sepsis causes or contributes to half of all deaths in hospitals and has become the leading cause of annual hospitals costs, at over 24 billion USD per year.

The resolution also requests the Director-General of the WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, to draw attention to the public health impact of sepsis and to 1) publish a report on sepsis and its global consequences by the end of 2018, 2) support the Member States adequately, 3) collaborate with other UN organizations, and 4) report to the 2020 WHA on the implementation of this resolution.

“Community-acquired and health care-acquired sepsis represent a huge global burden that has been estimated to be 31 million cases every year, six million of which result in death,” said Dr. Chan. “One in ten patients world-wide acquires one health care associated infection which often manifests itself with sepsis conditions. I commend the member states for the content of the resolution on sepsis which point to key actions that need to be taken to reverse these shocking statistics.”

The WHO has allocated $4.6 million USD to help implement their sepsis resolution.

The adoption of sepsis as a global priority was initiated by the Global Sepsis Alliance who gathered the consensus and authority of clinicians and families from over 70 countries. 

“Worldwide, sepsis is one of the most common deadly diseases, and it is one of the few conditions to strike with equal ferocity in resource-poor areas and in the developed world,” said Dr. Konrad Reinhart, Chairman of the Global Sepsis Alliance.  “In the developed world, sepsis is dramatically increasing by an annual rate of 5-13 per cent over the last decade, and now claims more lives than bowel and breast cancer combined.  When sepsis is quickly recognized and treated, lives are saved but health care providers need better training because they are the critical link to preventing, recognizing, and treating sepsis.”

Full Press Release - for immediate release.
Read and download the full resolution (PDF, English).
Report by the WHO.
Executive Summary of the Resolution by the GSA.

The resolution is also available in Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic:

Full resolution in Spanish (PDF)
Full resolution in French (PDF)
Full resolution in Russian (PDF)
Full resolution in Chinese (PDF)
Full resolution in Arabic (PDF)

The 'WHA Side Event on Sepsis' was hosted by the Global Sepsis Alliance, the International Alliance of Patient's Organizations IAPO, and the German Federal Ministry of Health and took place on Wednesday, May 24th, 2017.

Speakers included high-ranking policy makers, government officials, WHO representatives, patient advocates, sepsis experts, and sepsis survivors. You can download the full program here (PDF, 1 MB).

We also used this 'WHA Side Event on Sepsis' to award the Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention with the Global Sepsis Award for their vital achievements in the fight against sepsis, including the adoption of 'Rory's Regulations' in New York State, which have saved well beyond 5,000 people up to today. Congratulations!

The video recording of the event is freely accessible on our World Sepsis Day YouTube Channel and embedded above.

This statewide evaluation showed that a delay to the completion of a 3-hour bundle and a delay of the administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics were associated with greater in-hospital mortality among patients with severe sepsis and septic shock in the emergency department. These findings support the observation form many other studies and quality improvement initiatives that prompt recognition and faster treatment of sepsis and septic shock may reduce the incidence of avoidable deaths and suggest that mandated emergency care for sepsis may save lives.

Read the full study here.

The 'WHA Side Event on Sepsis' takes place tomorrow, Wednesday May 24th 2017, from 12:30 pm Central European Summer Time to approximately 02:30 pm.

The free livestream is available here.

Speakers include high-ranking policy makers, government officials, WHO representatives, patient advocates, sepsis experts, and sepsis survivors. You can download the full program here (PDF, 1 MB).

After the event, we will make the video recording of the event available on our World Sepsis Day YouTube Channel - you can subscribe now to be notified once it is out.

Today, the Global Sepsis Alliance refreshes its design. This step was necessary to be more in line with the two most important projects of the GSA - World Sepsis Day and World Sepsis Congress. The new logo matches our colors, from the pink used by the World Sepsis Day Campaign, to the pink, blue and purple shades used by World Sepsis Congress and WSC Spotlight. The font is the same font used by World Sepsis Day (Neo Sans).

The logo itself is still a globe, symbolizing the global scope and impact of our work to raise awareness about sepsis and our aspiration to bring knowledge about sepsis to all parts of the world, easily accessible and free of charge.

We hope you like the new logo and color scheme. We are looking forward to hear what you think - please head over to Facebook, tweet at us or use the contact form to let us know. Please also let us know if you see the old logo being used somewhere, so we can quickly correct it. Thanks!

A recent study published in Intensive Care Medicine highlights the challenges in the management of sepsis in ICUs in resource-poor settings and makes suggestions for the future.
Sepsis is a major reason for admission to the ICU, in high-income as well as in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and managing it properly and swiftly greatly affects patient outcome.
The study found that although many bacterial pathogens causing sepsis in LMICs are similar to those in high-income countries, resistance patterns to antimicrobial drugs can be very different. Additionally, causes of sepsis in LMICs often include tropical diseases, in which direct damaging effects of pathogens and their products can sometimes be more important than the response of the host.

The full study is available here.

The Global Sepsis Alliance and the World Health Organization have joined forces to host the WSC Spotlight: Maternal and Neonatal Sepsis on September 12th, 2017. The WSC Spotlight is a free online congress in the style of the 1st World Sepsis Congress last year, but focuses on a particular topic, which is maternal and neonatal sepsis.

The congress will be held in English and is open to everyone with an internet connection.
For more information on program, speakers, time zones, and to register for free, please visit www.wscspotlight.org

In 4 distinctive sessions, over 20 speakers from all around the world will share their knowledge on maternal and neonatal sepsis and give updates on sepsis in 10-minute presentations and keynotes. After each talk, the speakers will answer live questions from the audience. After the congress, all presentations will be made available to view on demand on the World Sepsis Congress YouTube Channel and as a Podcast on Apple Podcasts.