In partnership with Inserm, the Institut Pasteur is organising the first french edition of World Sepsis Day this Friday 12 September. Conferences held at this event will be aimed at informing the general public and increasing awareness about these infections.

Sepsis (or septicaemia) represents the impact of serious infections on the body’s vital functions. This term refers to the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream.

Although it receives little attention in the media, sepsis is responsible for more hospital admissions than myocardial infarction. It is estimated that, worldwide, someone dies from sepsis every three seconds. In France, 70,000 cases of severe sepsis and septic shock are recorded each year.

On the programme for the day: the history of the disease from Lucretia Borgia to Louis Pasteur, a status report on research on the subject, and an update on antibiotic resistance and the means of preventing infections.

*More information on the event website

At the international level, Word Sepsis Day is on 13 September