Media Backgrounder – What is sepsis and how can we avoid this silent killer?
Many people have never heard of sepsis, but it kills more Australians every year than road traffic accidents or stroke. This summary backgrounder and Q&A provides an overview of this life-threatening condition, how you can get it and the longer term impacts on people.
The Sepsis Clinical Care Standard will help to ensure that patients with signs and symptoms of sepsis are recognised early, and receive rapid treatment and coordinated care to prevent organ failure, disability or death.
Every year, over 55,000 Australians are diagnosed with sepsis and more than 8,700 will lose their lives to the condition.
Sepsis is the body’s life-threatening response to infection, causing damage to its own tissues and organs, and potentially leading to death. It is vital that all Australians know about sepsis, act quickly if they have any of the warning signs, and ask their healthcare professional “could it be sepsis?”.
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