Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Sepsis: Antibiotics 'not working'
Patients are dying from sepsis because of a lack of effective antibiotics, an expert is warning.
Mark Bellamy, president of the Intensive Care Society, told the BBC the problem of resistance would get worse unless new and effective antibiotics were developed.
Sepsis is triggered by infections and causes around 37,000 deaths a year in the UK.
NHS England says hospitals should work together to tackle the problem.
Sepsis usually develops from blood poisoning and involves a dramatic reaction by the body's immune system.
If not treated quickly it can lead to organ failure or death.
Early symptoms can include a high temperature and a fast heartbeat.
Deadly
The Intensive Care Society recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of sepsis to avoid what it says are thousands of preventable deaths.
There are 37,000 deaths a year in the UK because of sepsis, compared with just more than 35,000 from lung cancer and 16,000 from bowel cancer.
The society, along with the UK Sepsis Trust, argues that there is inadequate recording of sepsis cases by hospitals and insufficient knowledge of the steps required to recognise and treat it early.
Case study
Julie Bignone nearly died because of sepsis and ......
More: BBC News
Patients are dying from sepsis because of a lack of effective antibiotics, an expert is warning.
Mark Bellamy, president of the Intensive Care Society, told the BBC the problem of resistance would get worse unless new and effective antibiotics were developed.
Sepsis is triggered by infections and causes around 37,000 deaths a year in the UK.
NHS England says hospitals should work together to tackle the problem.
Sepsis usually develops from blood poisoning and involves a dramatic reaction by the body's immune system.
If not treated quickly it can lead to organ failure or death.
Early symptoms can include a high temperature and a fast heartbeat.
Deadly
The Intensive Care Society recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of sepsis to avoid what it says are thousands of preventable deaths.
There are 37,000 deaths a year in the UK because of sepsis, compared with just more than 35,000 from lung cancer and 16,000 from bowel cancer.
The society, along with the UK Sepsis Trust, argues that there is inadequate recording of sepsis cases by hospitals and insufficient knowledge of the steps required to recognise and treat it early.
Case study
Julie Bignone nearly died because of sepsis and ......
More: BBC News