GSA Leads ESCMID Global Symposium Session
On April 13, 2025, the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA), in collaboration with Sepsis Stiftung and with support from Sanofi, hosted a high-level session at the ESCMID Global Symposium in Vienna.
Titled “Preventing Bacterial Infections: A Crucial Front in the Fight Against Sepsis and Antimicrobial Resistance,” the session brought together leading experts from the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) and the European Sepsis Alliance (ESA) to spotlight prevention as a cornerstone strategy in combating sepsis and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The event was co-chaired by Dr. Mariam Jashi, CEO of the Global Sepsis Alliance, former Member of Parliament and Health Minister of Georgia, and Dr. Michele Bartoletti, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at Humanitas University and Head of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Humanitas Research Hospital, Italy.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Jashi emphasized the urgency and opportunity in the fight against sepsis: “We rarely have the opportunity in our professional lives – as clinicians, researchers, political leaders, or innovators – to save millions of lives. That opportunity is now, in the global fight against sepsis, a major killer of children, women, and men worldwide.”
She highlighted that 8 million of the 13.66 million annual sepsis-related deaths are linked to bacterial infections, including 4.95 million deaths directly attributable to or associated with AMR. Dr. Jashi introduced the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis, the first multi-year, holistic strategy calling for strong political commitment and investment in prevention through vaccines, infection prevention and control (IPC), diagnostics, targeted therapies, and post-sepsis care solutions.
The session opened with a moving video message from Uwe Wiermann, a sepsis survivor from Germany and Regional Director for the NRW Amputee Association. Uwe shared his personal journey, highlighting the lack of public awareness around sepsis, noting that like many others, he had never heard of the condition before his life-altering experience.
Scientific Presentations from GSA and ESA Experts
Prof. Antonio Artigas, Chair of Sepsis and Acute Respiratory Failure Research at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, presented on “Sepsis Susceptibility and Comorbidities”, exploring the European epidemiology of sepsis and how factors such as sex, socio-economic status, nutrition, and pre-existing conditions influence outcomes, especially in older adults.
Prof. Lisa Mellhammar, Associate Professor and Senior Consultant at Skåne University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, shared insights from a nationwide cohort study (1987–2022) on pediatric sepsis. Her findings revealed that children who survive sepsis face elevated mortality and long-term health challenges even five years post-infection. She also emphasized the pressing need for more comprehensive pediatric data at national and global levels.
Prof. Evangelos J. Giamarellos-Bourboulis, Chair of the European Sepsis Alliance and Professor of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, concluded the session with a presentation titled “From Trained Immunity to Vaccination: Room for Prevention from Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria?” He presented pioneering research showing how BCG vaccination can enhance immune responses and provide protection against respiratory and hospital-acquired infections, including COVID-19.
Looking Ahead: Global Collaboration
In her closing remarks, Dr. Jashi invited participants to engage with the Global Sepsis Innovations Platform, a new initiative by the GSA aimed at accelerating collaboration around unmet needs in sepsis prevention, diagnostics, treatment, and post-sepsis care.
She extended her gratitude to Prof. Konrad Reinhart, President of Sepsis Stiftung, and Sanofi for their partnership in co-convening this impactful session at the ESCMID Global Symposium.
