Three-year-old Kimberley was a perfectly healthy, bright and bubbly little girl.

But in the span of just one night, her health deteriorated and she was rushed to hospital. Tragically, her young life was snuffed out swiftly and prematurely by a form of sepsis.

Not many people know it but sepsis is the leading cause of death in hospitals in Australia. It can strike anybody at anytime, but young children and the elderly are the most vulnerable.

Sepsis kills shockingly fast. A patient’s chance of survival drops by eight per cent for every hour without treatment. To make matters worse, the current method to test for sepsis can take up to five days to deliver a result.

It’s no wonder that sepsis makes health workers very nervous.

A breakthrough is in sight, but we need your help to take the next step.

A team of Burnet scientists led by Associate Professor David Anderson and Ms Mary Garcia are undertaking research that could revolutionise the way people around the world are tested and treated for sepsis.

This research aims to develop a device that could detect sepsis in just 20 minutes.

But David and Mary desperately need your help to progress the device towards clinical trials.

Thanks to everyone who supports our work.