In Germany, sepsis mortality has been stagnating at a high level for decades, while it has fallen worldwide. In 2021, 211,000 people died of sepsis in this country (247 per 100,000 inhabitants), significantly more than in countries such as Australia or Switzerland. The chances of survival are worse, especially with urinary tract and abdominal infections, and newborns are also more at risk. Sepsis also causes €32.7 billion in treatment costs annually. The Sepsis Foundation calls for consistent implementation of the WHO resolution to reduce deaths by up to 50%. This is the result of the new “Global Burden of Disease” report.

The report “Global, regional and national sepsis incidence and mortality (1990–2021)” by the authors of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Report, which has now been published in the journal The Lancet just in time for DKLM 2025 , underlines the dramatic burden of sepsis and the urgent need for reform in Germany.

Global estimates for the pandemic year 2021 assume 166 million sepsis cases and 21.4 million sepsis-related deaths worldwide and 211,000 deaths in Germany This means that one in three deaths worldwide and one in five deaths in Germany was caused by sepsis.

Germany in international comparison: Sepsis mortality rate rises
While the global sepsis death rate per 100,000 inhabitants fell from 309 to 182 between 1990 and 2019, it rose from 148 to 163 per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany over the same period. at. In 2021, the rate rose to 247 per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany and to 270 globally.

• Country Sepsis death rate per 100,000 inhabitants 1990 2019 2021

• Germany 148 163 247

• Australia 87 101 109

• Norway 177 137 148

• Switzerland 128 116 158

These figures show that sepsis mortality in Germany was contrary to the development in many comparable industrialized countries. The chances of survival from sepsis are significantly lower in Germany: The probability of dying from sepsis due to a urinary tract infection is about 30% higher in this country, and the chances of survival are 47% lower in sepsis caused by an infection in the abdominal cavity than in Switzerland (source: Microbe Interactive website/see link).

The risk of dying from sepsis is also significantly higher in newborns, with 12 deaths per 100,000 births, than, for example, in Norway (7.5 per 100,000 births).

You can find out more about sepsis at DKLM 2025. The German Congress of Laboratory Medicine (DKLM) 2025 promises exciting insights into the interface between science and clinical practice. Under the motto “Science for Precision Medicine”, the German Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL) and the Umbrella Association for Technologists and Analysts in Medicine Germany (DVTA) invite experts from research, clinics and industry to meet on October 23 and 24 at the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL). The two-day event is aimed at laboratory physicians, biomedical analysts and decision-makers to discuss current advances in diagnostics and strengthen networks.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

Gender Notice. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple naming and gendered designations are used for better readability. ected.

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