‘Fit and healthy’ young footballer, 16, dies of sepsis after developing fever on Christmas Day

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused when the body releases chemicals to fight an infection.

These chemicals damage the body’s own tissues and organs and can lead to shock, organ failure and death. 

Organ failure and death are more likely if sepsis is not recognized early and treated immediately.

Sepsis infects an estimated 123,000 Brits every year.  

The symptoms can look like gastro or flu and can become deadly, rapidly.

The six major signs of something potentially deadly can be identified by the acronym ‘SEPSIS’:

• Slurred speech or confusion, lethargy, disorientation
• Extreme shivering or muscle pain, fever or low temperature
• Pressing a rash doesn’t make it fade
• Severe breathlessness, rapid breathing
• Inability to pass urine for several hours 
• Skin that’s mottled or discoloured  

Children may also show convulsions or fits, and a rash that doesn’t fade when you press it – and more than 40 per cent of cases occur in children under five. 

Anyone who develops these symptoms should seek medical help urgently — and ask doctors: ‘Could this be sepsis?’   The early symptoms of sepsis can be easily confused with more mild conditions, making it difficult to diagnose. 

A high temperature (fever), chills and shivering, a fast heartbeat and rapid breathing are also indicators. 

A patient can rapidly deteriorate if sepsis is missed early on, so quick diagnosis and treatment is vital – yet this rarely happens. 

In the early stages, sepsis can be mistaken for a chest infection, flu or upset stomach. 

It is most common and dangerous in older adults, pregnant women, children younger than one, people with chronic conditions or those who have weakened immune systems.