Queensland advocate welcomes new sepsis findings

It’s a disease that killed more than 2000 Queenslanders and maimed many more in the past 18 months, creeping up almost undetected on its victims and sending their immune systems into overdrive. But now, Australian scientists are nudging closer to a cure.

AUSTRALIAN scientists are nudging closer to a cure for deadly sepsis which killed more than 2000 Queenslanders and maimed many more in 2019-20.

The sneaky disease is caused by the immune system going into overdrive in response to infection. It leads to extreme inflammation that can cause blood clots and block oxygen from reaching vital organs, resulting in tissue death and multiple organ failure. It is hard to detect in early stages as it can appear as a simple flu.

Researchers from La Trobe University in Melbourne have identified and characterised the gene responsible for immune cell death and inflammation during sepsis. Their significant findings have been published in Nature Immunology.

Lead researcher Dr Christina Nedeva, from the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, said sepsis is characterised by two deadly stages.

“The initial inflammatory phase, or septic shock, is followed by a prolonged immunosuppression phase, which commonly leads to pneumonia. While the shock accounts for about 15 per cent of sepsis-related deaths, the immunosuppression phase accounts for 85 per cent,” Dr Nedeva said.

Carrie Giles, 2, and Mia Wilkinson, 7, posing at Kallangur, Brisbane. Mia and Carrie both lost their limbs due to complications with Sepsis. (Image/Josh Woning)

“Excitingly, we’ve discovered the TREML4 gene regulates both of these phases,” she said.

The Australians findings are at the forefront of sepsis research and they hope to secure new funding for the next stage of the study, which will focus on the development of therapeutic antibodies against the TREML4 receptor.

Brisbane’s Amy Wilkinson, from the Australian Sepsis Network, Queensland Consumer Advisory Group said she is excited researchers are moving closer to wiping out the disease which stole the limbs from her little girl Mia.

“This kind of work is in desperate need of funding. Most people have never heard of sepsis but it is highly dangerous and kills a lot of people,” she said.

Queensland’s Carrie Giles, also lost her leg to sepsis.

In 2018, Mia received a much-needed new pair of prosthetic legs thanks to The Courier-Mail Children’s Fund, which donated $30,000 to the Wilkinson family.

SEPSIS SIGNS

• A high pulse
• Laboured breathing
• Lethargy or confusion
• A high or even low temperature