EU Research Project ImmunoSep Featured in Horizon Magazine: New Ways to Tackle Bloodstream Infections

ImmunoSep, one of the many European projects in Eurice's portfolio on innovative health research, has just been featured in HORIZON: The EU Research & Innovation magazine. The article titled 'Europe steps up fight against deadly sepsis and antibiotic-resistant bacteria' explains how EU researchers are looking for new ways to tackle bloodstream infections that kill millions of people worldwide every year.

Professor Evangelos Giamarellos-Bourboulis of the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis in Greece and coordinator of the ImmunoSep trial, outlines the urgent need for breakthroughs in sepsis diagnosis and treatment. ImmunoSep addresses the existing challenges through a dedicated trial including 280 patients with sepsis. The study aims to apply novel tests to distinguish between hyper-immune responses and immunoparalysis and treatments to restore immune function in both cases.

The article also highlights the important role of antibiotic resistance in treating sepsis. "We anticipate that 50% of sepsis cases are due to resistant bacteria. If we do not reverse resistance to antibiotics, or we do not find new antibiotics, the number of deaths in the years to come will be frightening", Professor Giamarellos-Bourboulis says.

Results from an EU funded project called RAPID-SEP-AST aiming to develop the world’s fastest antibiotic susceptibility testing platform will also be announced in the coming months.

The full HORIZON article is available here for further reading.