Death toll from sepsis in Australia ‘almost twice as many’ as thought

New research shows “alarming” figures about a health problem that played a role in 11 million deaths - about one in five worldwide.

The number of cases and deaths from sepsis in Australia is vastly underestimated with an education campaign and new healthcare standards needed to tackle the condition, experts say.

The death toll from sepsis is almost twice as many as previously thought, while number of cases is triple previous estimates, according to the Global Burden of Disease study published today.

The study notes there were about 55,000 sepsis cases and 8700 deaths in Australia in 2017 compared with previous estimates of 18,000 cases and 5000 deaths.

Globally sepsis played a direct role in the deaths of 11 million people in 2017, almost twice as many as previously estimated, according to a study published on Thursday.

That represents one death for every five cases of the condition, and one-in-five deaths from all causes worldwide, researchers reported in The Lancet medical journal.

“We are alarmed to find sepsis deaths are much higher than previously estimated, especially as the condition is both preventable and treatable,” said senior author Mohsen Naghavi, a professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Washington state.

There were tens of thousands of cases of sepsis in 2017. Picture: iStock

The George Institute’s Professor Simon Finfer said the figures showed new healthcare standards and a public education campaign on sepsis were needed.

“It is a major public health problem that’s unappreciated,” Prof Finfer said.

Sepsis is a life-threatening disease caused by the body’s immune system going into overdrive to fight a bacterial infection, damaging organs and tissue.

Symptoms include skin rashes, high fevers, shivering and shaking or rapid heart rate.

RELATED: Young mum loses limbs to killer illness

Almost twice as many people died from sepsis than previously thought. Picture: iStock

The study used international health data to find sepsis deaths had doubled previous estimates. It used Australian death certificates rather than recorded health data because administration staff did not always use the word “sepsis” in medical reports.

Only 40 per cent of Australians knew of sepsis with only one in seven people able to identify symptoms, said Prof Finfer, who is also intensive care director at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

He said one-third of people who contracted sepsis would die, and those who survived would often suffer ongoing health complications.

The disease is caused by the body’s immune system going into overdrive. Picture: iStock

“People tend to equate sepsis with something that happens in hospitals – 80 per cent of sepsis arrives out of hospitals,” said Prof Finfer, who also called for better rehabilitation of sepsis survivors.

The cost of treating acute episodes of sepsis was $750 million a year, he said.

Most at risk from sepsis are the very young, very old, people with existing health conditions, pregnant women and indigenous people.