Sepsis Accounts For One In Five Deaths Globally: WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Geneva: On World Sepsis Day, Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that WHO is committed to addressing Sepsis as a global threat. To observe World Sepsis Day, Tedros shared a video on X, captioned, “#Sepsis accounts for nearly 1 in 5 deaths globally, including children. We know these deaths can be avoided, through vaccines, rapid diagnostics and timely access to appropriate and effective treatments. We call on all countries to take serious action. #HealthForAll.”

Dr. Tedros in a short video message.

Sepsis accounts for nearly one in five deaths globally, and 85 per cent of Sepsis cases and deaths are in low and middle-income countries

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He added that children under five years of age are among the most affected, but these deaths can be avoided through vaccines, rapid diagnostics, and timely access to appropriate and effective treatment. Dr. Tedros said,

WHO is committed to addressing Sepsis as a global threat. Six years ago, our member states adopted the first global resolution on Sepsis. This year’s, World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on emergency, critical and operative care, as well as a global strategy on infection prevention and control.

The WHO chief also said that next year,

WHO will launch new guidelines on Sepsis prevention and management, including prevention of bloodstream infections.

He added,

The challenge we all face now is to turn guidelines into action. So we welcome the focus of this year’s World Sepsis Day event on implementing the WHO Sepsis resolution nationally and globally.

Sepsis is a leading cause of hospitalisation and death worldwide. Each year in the US, about 1.7 million people develop sepsis, an extreme immune response to an infection in the bloodstream that can spread throughout the whole body and lead to organ failure and possibly death.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.