An epidemic is a breakout of disease in a community within a short period. A pandemic is an outbreak of disease over a wide area or worldwide. Most pandemics are viral, although bacteria and parasites can also cause major outbreaks. Regardless of the cause, many of the pandemic deaths result from sepsis.
Sepsis is a life-threatening emergency that happens when your body’s response to an infection damages vital organs and, often, causes death. Like strokes or heart attacks, sepsis is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment.
COVID-19 is the fifth major pandemic to hit in the past 100 years, but there have been smaller ones too. News of epidemics and pandemics can be frightening. We can’t always prevent infections. But with care and consistency with good hygiene practices, as well as not proper use of antibiotics, we can reduce our risk of becoming sick when infections spread.
Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR (also called antibiotic resistance), is a serious threat to human health. The 1918 influenza death toll was so high because many died of secondary bacterial infections. COVID-19 can cause bacterial pneumonia. If AMR becomes too prevalent, we no longer will have the means to treat these infections.
Suggested Citation:
Sepsis Alliance. Sepsis and Pandemics. 2024. https://www.sepsis.org/sepsisand/pandemics/
Updated March 14, 2024.