Overview

• An analysis of 100,000 emergency referral protocols in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg found paramedics never documented sepsis and emergency physicians did so in under 0.1% of cases.
• Fewer than six percent of German hospitals have structured sepsis quality‑improvement and education measures, compared with roughly half of hospitals in Scandinavian countries.
• Annual toll estimates diverge widely, with reported figures ranging from at least 65,000 to about 140,000 deaths, while campaign data cite 230,000 cases and at least 85,000 deaths, and sepsis is described as Germany’s third leading cause of death.
• Experts call for a national infection‑management strategy with broad public education, including instruction in schools, to improve early recognition and outcomes.
• Prevention and response lag, with only about one third of adults vaccinated against key infections, survival tied to rapid antibiotics after symptom onset, and researchers pursuing digital tools for earlier detection.