Researchers from the University of Otago Wellington – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke, found hospital admissions for sepsis rose significantly between 2000 and 2019, with infants, patients over 70, Māori and Pacific people and those living in areas of deprivation at much higher risk of developing the condition.
A dramatic rise in sepsis cases across Aotearoa New Zealand is exposing a growing and deeply inequitable public health crisis, with The New Zealand Sepsis Trust calling for urgent Government action to prevent further avoidable deaths.
New research from the University of Otago reveals hospital admissions for sepsis surged by 78 percent between 2000 and 2019, rising from 217 to 386 admissions per 100,000 people. The findings, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, paint a stark picture of a condition that is both widespread and worsening.
Over the two-decade period, there were approximately 260,000 hospitalisations and 27,400 deaths from sepsis, accounting for nearly five percent of all deaths in Aotearoa. That is almost four times the number of deaths from motor vehicle accidents.
Defined at the 2010 Merinoff Symposium, sepsis is a life-threatening condition arising when the body's response to infection injures its own tissues and organs. Previously known as septicaemia, it is characterized as a medical emergency often leading to shock and multiple organ failure. Globally, it is linked to one in three deaths.
Māori and Pacific peoples are disproportionately affected, being 1.7 and 2.3 times more likely to be hospitalised, respectively, and more than one-and-a-half times more likely to die, than non-Māori, non-Pacific populations. Those living in the most deprived communities are twice as likely to die from sepsis compared to those in the least deprived areas.
CEO of Sepsis Trust NZ, Ally Hossain, says it is not a marginal issue.
“This is a major, preventable cause of death hiding in plain sight, and it’s a clear example of health inequity in action.”
“Where you live, your ethnicity, and your access to care should not determine whether you survive sepsis, but in this country right now, they do,” she says.
New Zealand is falling behind international best practice. Only around half of sepsis patients receive treatment within the critical three-hour window, delays that significantly increase the risk of death and long-term disability.
Paul Huggan, founding Trustee of Sepsis Trust NZ, says one in five patients requires intensive or high dependency care, placing enormous strain on already stretched hospital resources.
“Many cases and deaths from sepsis are preventable. We know that early recognition and rapid treatment save lives, but our system is not consistently delivering that care,” he says.
Despite strong support from frontline clinicians for a nationwide implementation of the sepsis quality improvement package developed by the Health Quality & Safety Commission, progress has stalled due to a lack of coordinated national leadership.
The Trust is calling on the Government to urgently implement a comprehensive National Sepsis Action Plan to:
Improve early recognition and rapid treatment
Strengthen prevention and infection control
Address inequities in outcomes for Māori and Pacific communities
Support appropriate antibiotic use in line with global guidelines for antimicrobial stewardship
Invest in national surveillance and data
Provide wraparound support for survivors, particularly in the critical 12 months after discharge
With an ageing population and rising rates of chronic illness such as diabetes, experts warn that sepsis cases will continue to increase, particularly in communities already facing systemic disadvantage.
Ally Hossain says it is now becoming a test of our health system and our priorities as a country.
“We have the evidence. We have the expertise. What we need now is the political will to act,” she says.
