The research reports that the striking increase is attributable to a far higher sepsis burden being estimated to occur in areas where data is lacking. The study estimated that sepsis incidence and mortality varied substantially across regions, with the highest burden in sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, south Asia, east Asia, and southeast Asia.
The Maternal Child Epidemiology Estimation (MCEE), found that combined, meningitis and neonatal sepsis are the second largest infectious killers of children under 5.
Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) is a charity which campaigns to defeat meningitis and sepsis globally. Claire Wright, Evidence and Policy Manager for MRF said: “It is crucial to address the causes of sepsis across all ages. Effective vaccines, increased vaccination coverage, and improved diagnosis and treatment are a vital part of tackling this issue.”
Estimates from this new study have been based on extrapolating data from four countries and using this to predict sepsis deaths for the rest of the world rather than using reported deaths. Based on this, the researchers estimated nearly 49 million cases of sepsis with 11 million deaths, representing nearly 20% of all global deaths. Other findings include that age-standardised sepsis incidence fell by 37·0% and mortality decreased by 52·8% from 1990 to 2017.