What is sepsis?
Sepsis (blood poisoning) is a serious infection that makes patients very ill. Sepsis occurs when pathogens enter the bloodstream and the body's immune system overreacts. This causes damage to several of the body's organs leading to organ function failure. Sepsis is one of the common causes of death in Norwegian hospitals, and 11 million people die each year worldwide.
Sepsis can affect healthy people of all ages, from newborns to the very old. Patients who are debilitated by major surgery or who suffer from cancer, diabetes, obesity or cardiovascular disease, are particularly prone to severe infections and the development of sepsis.