WHO seeks global action to combat frightening rates of sepsis
The World Health Organization has sought a global action against the increasing rates of sepsis globally.
The call for global action on Thursday September 10, 2020, followed WHO’s first global report on sepsis.
The report reveals that the effort to tackle millions of deaths and disabilities caused by sepsis is hampered by serious gaps in knowledge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
According to recent studies, sepsis kills 11 million people each year, many of them children. It disables millions more.
“The world must urgently step up efforts to improve data about sepsis so all countries can detect and treat this terrible condition in time,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“This means strengthening health information systems and ensuring access torapid diagnostic tools, and quality care including safe and affordable medicines and vaccines,” he added
Sepsis occurs in response to an infection. When sepsis is not recognized early and managed promptly, it can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death.
Patients who are critically ill with severe COVID-19 and other infectious diseases are at higher risk of developing and dying from sepsis.
Even sepsis survivors are not out of danger: only half will completely recover, the rest will either die within 1 year or be burdened by long-term disabilities.
Therefore, WHO calls on the global community to “improve robust study designs and high-quality data collection, especially in low- and middle-income countries.”
Scale-up global advocacy, funding and the research capacity for epidemiological evidence on the true burden of sepsis.
The health organization also encouraged the improvement of surveillance systems, starting at the primary care level, including the use of standardized and feasible definitions in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), and leveraging existing programmes and disease networks.
Dr Tedros also urged communities to develop rapid, affordable and appropriate diagnostic tools, particularly for primary and secondary levels of care, to improve sepsis identification, surveillance, prevention and treatment.
