Sepsis: Protecting Our Most Vulnerable During World Sepsis Awareness Month
Every September, World Sepsis Awareness Month reminds us that sepsis can strike anyone, at any time. But it is our most vulnerable who face the greatest risk.
Professor Andrew Udy, intensive care specialist and lead investigator at the National Critical Care Research Collaboration, stresses this point:
“Sepsis affects the most vulnerable members of our community. Particularly the very young — newborns and infants — and older patients. People with chronic diseases like poorly controlled diabetes, those receiving chemotherapy, or taking medications that suppress the immune system are also at much greater risk. The important thing to remember is that it’s about vulnerability: your body’s reduced ability to respond to infection.”
Even for those who survive, sepsis is not always a one-off event. Research shows that around one in five patients are readmitted within 30 days, often due to recurring infections or complications that continue to disrupt their lives.
For consumer representative and master’s candidate Roxanne Zybenko-Keane, this risk became all too real. Over four years, she endured three episodes of sepsis and two additional severe skin infections — none linked to a clear wound or injury.
“I was in my early twenties and just a year into my first job after graduating from an environmental science degree when this all started. While there’s no ideal time to fall ill to sepsis, at that point in my life, it was a real setback,” Roxanne said.
The first two episodes, just a month apart, left her facing almost a year-long recovery, time out of the workforce, and a major rethink of life priorities. “Little did I realise this would become a recurring problem,” she said.
With determination, and the support of healthcare teams and her own networks, Roxanne has developed strategies for recognising symptoms early and seeking urgent treatment. “It took a long time and hard work but it’s getting easier to manage. Best of all, I can continue doing what I love: caring for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife in my local region.”
Roxanne’s story highlights a critical message this World Sepsis Awareness Month: sepsis is not just a one-off illness, but a recurring, life-threatening condition that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable.
Know the signs. Share the stories. Help save lives.
Roxanne is a consumer representative on the research priority study Shaping Sepsis Care Steering Group.
Survey 1 is currently seeking input from patients, carers and healthcare professionals to ensure impactful research with improved sepsis treatment outcomes.