There were almost 50m sepsis cases worldwide and 11m deaths in 2017, according to US researchers writing in the Lancet medical journal. Sepsis, an overcharged response by the body to infection, is associated with one in five deaths worldwide, they say. By comparison, the World Health Organisation estimated that there were 9.6 million deaths from cancer in 2018. “More than half of all sepsis cases worldwide in 2017 occurred among children,” says the paper. Dr Ron Daniels, chief executive of the Global Sepsis Alliance and the UK Sepsis Trust, said: “Sepsis is now known to claim more lives than cancer.

Source: The Guardian January 16, 2020 17:06 UTC