In the spotlight: Project Sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of infection, responsible for 44,000 deaths every year in the UK.

It can develop from several bacterial infections so quick identification of the exact pathogen responsible remains a challenge, especially in babies where signs of infection such as a high temperature may not occur.

Currently the most reliable way to diagnose the infection is by detecting the bacteria in the blood, but this requires a relatively large volume of blood.

The Project Sepsis team is led by Professor Peter Ghazal and effectively brings together basic science and clinical research to the benefit of the patients. The team use innovative computer-assisted techniques to decode signals generated from patients’ DNA and metabolism. These signals can tell doctors whether or not a bacterial infection is present in the bloodstream, and could help develop a more sensitive, rapid and accurate test that only requires a single drop of blood.

Professor Ghazal’s research has identified a 52-character DNA ‘tweet’ or message that is specific for bacterial but not viral infection. He explained:

"Just as a Twitter user can send a 140-character message, so our genomes produce short messages or signals which communicate with the immune and metabolic systems so that it can fight the infection."

The team also promotes interaction between patients, researchers, and clinical staff through a newly established Sepsis Patient and Public Engagement Centre (SPPEC), physically located in the Sir Geraint Evans Cardiovascular Research Building at University Hospital of Wales (UHW), acting as an interaction and training hub.

SPPEC aims to engage through outreach events and to promote patient and public involvement (PPI) in research and the clinic to help save lives against sepsis.

Project Sepsis Lay Advisory Community

Lay advisory involvement for Project Sepsis is underway with opportunities to join the pool of lay advisors. Those affected by sepsis either directly, as former patients, or indirectly as family members of former patients are particularly welcome as well as those who wish to get involved out of general interest.

If you would like to find out more about patient and public engagement, please contact:

This is a shortened version of the full article that features in edition 28 of ReMEDy.

Read the full article