{"id":1100,"date":"2026-09-24T10:21:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T10:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genes2me.com\/blog\/?p=1100"},"modified":"2026-09-24T10:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T10:21:44","slug":"sepsis-amr-detection-molecular-diagnostics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genes2me.com\/blog\/sepsis-amr-detection-molecular-diagnostics\/","title":{"rendered":"Sepsis & AMR: A Growing and Compounding Clinical Challenge -Why Faster Detection Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you had to guess how many people die from sepsis each year, what would you say? A few hundred thousand? A million?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The global burden is far greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 48.9 million cases of sepsis and 11 million sepsis-related deaths occurred globally in 2017<\/strong>, representing approximately 20% of all global deaths<\/strong>. WHO continues to cite these figures as the available global estimates, while also noting that reliable population-level sepsis data remain challenging to collect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The burden is particularly high in low- and middle-income countries, where resources for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sepsis can be more limited. Moreover, the challenge becomes even more complex when antimicrobial resistance (AMR) enters the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Exactly Is Sepsis?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition in which the body’s dysregulated response to an infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. It can result from infections originating in the lungs, urinary tract, bloodstream or other sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without early recognition and appropriate treatment, sepsis can progress to organ dysfunction, septic shock and death. The risk is particularly high among newborns, older adults, pregnant women and people with underlying conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHO estimates that approximately 20 million sepsis cases occurred in children under 5<\/strong>, based on 2017 global estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sepsis is not simply an infection; it is a rapidly evolving clinical emergency where early recognition and timely treatment matter.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Second Crisis Making the First One More Difficult<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if sepsis alone were not enough of a challenge, antimicrobial resistance is making the treatment of serious bacterial infections increasingly complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines.<\/strong> As a result, infections can become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of severe illness, complications and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest global surveillance data show just how widespread the problem has become. According to WHO’s Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report 2025<\/strong>, approximately 1 in 6 laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections causing common infections worldwide were resistant to antibiotics in 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHO also reported that between 2018 and 2023, antibiotic resistance increased in more than 40% of the pathogen\u2013antibiotic combinations monitored<\/strong>, with an average annual increase of approximately 5\u201315%<\/strong> among the combinations where resistance increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The global burden is also reflected in mortality. In 2021, bacterial AMR was estimated to be associated with approximately 4.71 million deaths worldwide, including 1.14 million deaths directly attributable to bacterial AMR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When AMR Meets Bloodstream Infections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antimicrobial resistance becomes particularly challenging when it affects serious bloodstream infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHO’s latest surveillance data identify Escherichia coli<\/em> and Klebsiella pneumoniae<\/em> among the leading drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria found in bloodstream infections. Globally, >40% of E. coli<\/em> and >55% of K. pneumoniae<\/em> were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When resistant pathogens are involved, treatment can become more difficult and options more limited \u2014 making timely information about the pathogen and relevant resistance mechanisms increasingly important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Every Hour Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In sepsis, time is critical. Early recognition and appropriate antimicrobial treatment are central to effective management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional bloodstream infection diagnosis commonly relies on blood culture followed by organism identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). While culture remains an important diagnostic method, it requires microbial growth before subsequent testing can provide additional information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This creates a diagnostic gap:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The patient needs relevant information now. The conventional workflow may take considerably longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From \u201cWhat Is Causing the Infection?\u201d to \u201cWhat Can We Do About It?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identifying the pathogen is only part of the diagnostic question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding whether relevant antimicrobial resistance genes are also present can provide an additional layer of molecular insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where molecular diagnostics can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rapid molecular assays can simultaneously detect targeted pathogens and resistance determinants, providing a more consolidated molecular picture in a shorter timeframe than conventional culture-dependent workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detect the pathogen. Identify relevant resistance. Get molecular insights faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introducing SepsiAMR-Q: Bringing Sepsis and AMR Detection Together<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To address this diagnostic need, G2M has developed SepsiAMR-Q<\/strong>, a multiplex real-time PCR assay designed for the simultaneous detection of key sepsis-associated pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than approaching pathogen identification and AMR detection as separate testing questions, SepsiAMR-Q brings them together within a single molecular assay.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assay is designed to provide detection across:<\/p>\n\n\n\n