Sepsis deaths around world 'twice as high as previously thought'

There were 11 million deaths in 2017 - more than from cancer - with children in poorer countries most at risk, study finds

Deaths from sepsis around the world are twice as high as previously thought, with babies and small children in poorer countries at greatest risk, a major study has revealed.

There were almost 50m sepsis cases worldwide and 11m deaths in 2017, according to US researchers writing in the Lancet medical journal. Sepsis, an overcharged response by the body to infection, is associated with one in five deaths worldwide, they say. By comparison, the World Health Organisation estimated that there were 9.6 million deaths from cancer in 2018.