Sepsis is a bigger killer than Cancer across the world
In the new study, published in The Lancet, half of all cases occurred in children and adolescents, particularly in low or low-middle income countries.
Sepsis is now a bigger killer than cancer, with more than double the number of deaths worldwide than previously estimated, a global study suggests.
One person every three seconds dies from the condition worldwide, a charity said in response to the research, which suggests sepsis accounts for almost a fifth of global deaths.
The researchers' Global Burden Of Disease Report on sepsis estimates there were 48.9 million cases in 2017, and 11 million deaths, across 195 countries and territories.
This equates to just under a fifth of all global deaths that year.
The most recent global estimate, in 2016, was of 19.4 million cases and 5.3 million deaths, based on data on adults in hospitals in seven high-income countries.
Published: by Radio NewsHub