On January 30th, the World Health Organization declared the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) a global health emergency, declaring it an “unprecedented outbreak.”

While the fears of a COVID-19 pandemic are legitimate, it is the view of the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) that robust and appropriately funded healthcare systems, having already improved the survival rates for sepsis significantly over the past two decades, will be able to adequately identify and manage patients with emerging infections such as COVID-19.

Additionally, while the majority of individuals affected by COVID-19 will not develop life-threatening sepsis, the global threat posed by COVID-19 does underpin the need for all citizens and healthcare workers to ensure they are familiar with the early signs of sepsis and appreciate that sepsis can be caused by a multitude of infections, such as this novel coronavirus, other viral infections, seasonal influenza viruses, or common bacterial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract, abdominal, or wound infections.

Never has the slogan of the Global Sepsis Alliance rung truer than now – Stop Sepsis, Save Lives.

Read More