The symptoms of Septicemia include:

1. Having a high fever

2. Low blood pressure

3. Excessive sweating

4. Fast heart rate and breathing

5. Can be accompanied by a hemmoragic rash that are blood clusters which can get bigger if not treated.

Septicemia itself cannot be spread from person to person, but the causative agent, Escherichia coli, can be spread either by direct or indirect contact.

Direct contact includes: Touching the bodily fluids of the infected person and not throughly washing hands after.

Indirect contact includes: Consuming fecal-contaminated foods or water.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a gram-negative facultative anaerobe commonly found in the natural flora of the intestines, but the pathogenic kind is found in contaminated meats and vegetables due to the cross contamination of bovine intestinal contents in meats along with cow manure fertilizer in vegetables.

An important Virulence factor of Sepsis is the production of toxins by the pathogens causing it. For example, in the case of Escherichia coli causing sepsis, the LPS of the bacteria is released inside the body after cell lysis causing Host cells to release pro-inflammatory cytokines. If there becomes an imbalance of pro- and anti- inflammatory mediators, it can dysregulate the inflammatory response, causing sepsis.

Another way LPS contributes is the release of a component found in the LPS called Lipid A, which is sufficient in endothelial cell injury and once Lipid A reaches the bloodstream, it can cause endotoxin shock.

Sepsis as of today does not have a known vaccine, but it does have preventative steps someone can take to avoid getting it.

Steps to take:

1. Keep wounds clean and covered until healed

2. Practice good hand hygiene and always wash foods

3. avoid contaminated waters

4. Go to the doctor immediately if you suspect an infection

5. Take good care of chronic conditions such as kidney disease and diabetes

In order to diagnose sepsis, there is still not a single accurate diagnostic test doctors can order to diagnose it, instead they order a full laboratory workup which includes a CBC (measures how many white blood cells are present in the blood), a LFT (determines liver dysfunction by measuring bilirubin), and biomarkers (one example is blood lactate which measures the livers ability to metabolize lactate)

If Septicemia is left untreated, the patient can experience:

1. multi-organ failure

2. tissue damage

3. death (depending on how far the infection progresses).

If the patient makes a recovery, about 50% of patients who had sepsis can experience something called "Post sepsis syndrome" which includes:

1. Reduced organ function

2. Decreased cognitive function

3. Repeat infections

4. Memory loss

The treatment for sepsis needs to start immediately and typically consists of a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as the commonly used combination of piperacillin and tazobactam (Brand name: Zosyn).

Piperacillin is a penicillin antibiotic that relies on the tazobactam to inhibit beta-lactamase in order to prevent the destruction of the piperacillin. It works by inhibiting the synthesis of bacterial cell walls by binding to the specific penicillin-binding proteins which are located inside bacteria cell walls.

Data also shows that about three-fourths of those deaths occur in people who are 65 years old and older, with death rates increasing five times the amount in adults aged 85 years old and older.

1. Septicemia was first discovered back in 1879–1880 by Louis Pasteur when observing patients who had puerperal septicemia (an infection affecting postpartum women).

2. Maternal sepsis is the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths and can be diagnosed up to 42 days after giving birth.

3. Sepsis is the leading cause of death worldwide with 1 in 5 deaths being from sepsis.

Omudhome Ogbru, P. (2022, October 24). Piperacillin/Tazobactam (zosyn): Uses, side effects & dosage. MedicineNet. https://www.medicinenet.com/piperacillintazobactam_sodium-injection/article.htm

II, M. R. F. (2023, August 27). Laboratory evaluation of sepsis. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594258/#:~:text=A%20laboratory%20workup%2C%20including%20CBC,has%20diagnostic%20and%20prognostic%20value.

Kumar, A., Leite, A. F. V., Maekawa, L. S., Kaur, R., Filo, S. J. B., Persaud, P., Shaikh, J. D., Kichloo, A., & Shiwalkar, N. (2020, August 14). Management of <em>E.&nbsp;coli</em> sepsis. IntechOpen. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/72979

Full article: Gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial toxins in sepsis. (n.d.-a). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4161/viru.27024

Ramachandran, G. (2014, January 1). Gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial toxins in sepsis: A brief review. Virulence. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3916377/#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20most%20important,and%20enterotoxins%20in%20other%20bacteria.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, November 10). Products - data briefs - number 422 - November 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db422.htm

The morphology of Escherichia coli can be seen as being a rod-shaped bacteria with a flagella attached to aid in motility, but the appearance it has on an agar is white smooth, circular colonies.