Sepsis Canada

It’s vital to remember that sepsis presents slightly differently in children compared to adults. Due to increased vagueness, it is crucial to seek medical help as soon as you suspect a child may have developed sepsis.

Signs of pediatric sepsis include:

• Cold and clammy hands and feet OR red and flushed skin
• Weak pulse
• Heart rate either much slower OR much quicker than normal
• Rapid breathing
• Confusion and decreased mental capabilities (relative to age and development)

Pediatric Sepsis Week is an opportunity to build awareness of these symptoms that may otherwise be overlooked.

⏳Just 2 hours to go!

The 6th is about to begin 🌍

Join a global community coming together to advance sepsis care for newborns, children, and women – and help .

Free. Virtual. Open to all.

Don’t miss it 👉 worldsepsiscongress.org/live or on YouTube 👇https://www.youtube.com//streams

🚨 Only 2 days to go!

The countdown is almost over: the 6th starts this week.

Be part of a global gathering focused on advancing universal sepsis care for newborns, children, and women.

From and early recognition to treatment and policy, this is your chance to gain insights that help worldwide.

📅 April 22–23, 2026
🌍 Free, virtual, and open to everyone

Register, join the sessions, and be part of the change @ worldsepsiscongress.org

Interested in a 2-year virtual health research training program? Apply now!

Applications are OPEN for the 2026-2028 cohort of the LifTING & Sepsis Canada Health Research Training Platform.

This fully funded, 2-year virtual training program includes interactive online modules, small-group mentorship, a funded research practicum, and an annual in-person symposium.

We welcome early-career researchers, healthcare professionals, graduate students, research coordinators, patient and family partners, knowledge translators, and community members to apply!

Click here to read more and apply:
liftingsepsiscanada-hrtp.ca/home

Despite waiting for 8 hours in the Emergency Department, Danny Deagle was discharged without seeing a doctor. Two days later, he died of septic shock.

His daughter Erika has spent the last 3 months with more questions than answers. Her father had been in pain for a week and could barely get onto an examination table, yet he didn't even receive "the bare minimum," such as bloodwork.

Taking bloodwork is critical to diagnosing sepsis, as it can show that the body is fighting something and that there might be organ dysfunction, a key sign of sepsis. Our Scientific Director, Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud, who briefly appears in this Global News coverage about Danny's story, also highlights that time is critical to survivability.

Unfortunately, Danny lost his life. His chances of survival would likely have been significantly higher had his diagnostic plan been different during his first ED visit.

Erika believes that this oversight results from an overburdened healthcare system and ultimately hopes that speaking out about her father's death will drive changes that save lives.

(Image courtesy of Erika Snelgrove and Global News)

Watch the coverage here:

https://globalnews.ca/news/11672908/nova-scotia-emergency-department-death-father-sepsis/

While hiking through France and Spain, an infection developed into sepsis and hospitalized Christine for ten days. Despite the severity of her condition, Christine survived. However, after almost two years since being discharged, she still struggles with post-sepsis syndrome, including fatigue and brain fog.

Todd shares similar struggles. Over two years have passed since his Strep A infection that developed into sepsis, yet he still struggles with memory issues, brain fog, aches and pains, mild dizziness, and numbness in his hands and feet.

For others, the consequences can be as severe as losing limbs or being hospitalized again after a relapse of sepsis.

Sepsis Survivor Week is a reminder that struggles with sepsis don’t end after discharge. It is just as important to prevent sepsis as it is in providing survivors with the resources necessary to rebuild their lives after sepsis.



Canadian Sepsis Foundation Action on Sepsis World Sepsis Day

Despite having only 16 measles cases across 2020-23, Canada recently lost its measles-free status as cases surged past 5,000 in 2025 alone.

Symptoms include fever, red blotchy rashes, watery eyes, and a cough. Beyond these symptoms, measles is dangerous because it attacks and kills the cells that protect you. This leaves your immune system much weaker, making it far easier for you to get other serious infections or develop sepsis (a life-threatening reaction to infection).

Staying up to date on your vaccines is a simple and effective way to keep you and your family safe as we begin 2026!

You are at home feeling unwell. Your illness advances rapidly, becoming more intense as the fever, mental confusion, racing heartbeat, and plummeting blood pressure take hold.

These are symptoms of sepsis, and without prompt treatment, can become a life-threatening episode.

Most sepsis cases start in the community, not at a hospital, so public awareness of sepsis is fundamental for survival.

But here’s the worrying reality. Kirsten Fiest et al. investigated sepsis awareness in Canada and found:

🔴 47% don’t know what sepsis is
🔴 70% are unsure of a symptom
🔴 84% don’t know any risk factors
🔴 64% uncertain about preventative measures

The same study also highlighted solutions that can lower the burden of sepsis:

🟢 Public education initiatives
🟢 Employing media awareness strategies
🟢 Healthcare providers as key to building awareness

With enhanced awareness initiatives, we can equip Canadians to recognize sepsis symptoms, even when it appears at home.

Read the study here:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13054-022-04215-6

World Sepsis Day Action on Sepsis

Sepsis and AMR: Global Webinar for Medical Students – WSC Satellite Session on Dec 15, 2025 — World Sepsis Day - September 13 The Global Sepsis Alliance – in collaboration with the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) – is excited to announce a special World Sepsis Congress Satellite Session on Sepsis and AMR , taking place online on December 15, 2025, from 15:00 to 16:30 CET . Participati

Diagnosing sepsis in babies is extremely challenging. At the Annual AMR Symposium hosted by bioMérieux, Dr. Amy Lee and Dr. Pacios-Santamaria presented two Canadian projects that are working to change that.

Here is the issue:

An effective diagnostic tool for sepsis is bacterial culturing, but:

🔴 80% of babies with suspected sepsis are culture negative

🔴 In low-resource settings, blood cultures are not even available

This often leaves little choice but to use first-line antibiotics, yet:

🔴 95% of neonatal sepsis isolates (gram-negative bacteria) from Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia are resistant to one such antibiotics, Ampicillin

What is being done to tackle this issue?

Researchers led by Dr. Amy Lee and Dr. Pascal Lavoie at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute are developing rapid molecular tests using omics and machine-learning, with the aim of:

🟢 Identifying which babies truly need antibiotics

🟢 Developing an easy-to-use diagnostic tool to guide treatment worldwide

Additionally, the AVENGER initiative, directed by Dr. Pieter Cullis and Dr. Anna Blakney, is building a national RNA vaccine platform that hopes to develop next-generation vaccines in under 100 days and aims to enable:

🟢 Custom-designed RNA vaccines for viral and bacterial threats

🟢 New vaccine candidates targeting AMR bacteria

🟢 A pathway to innovative drugs that treat previously incurable diseases

These initiatives are critical for treating sepsis across all ages, but for newborns facing the fewest options, the impact could be significant!