{"id":1004757,"date":"2021-07-01T23:54:21","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T06:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/?post_type=feature&p=1004757"},"modified":"2025-10-02T05:48:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T12:48:55","slug":"sepsis-experiments-on-animals","status":"publish","type":"feature","link":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/features\/sepsis-experiments-on-animals\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Sepsis Experiments on Animals Useless? Yes\u2014Here\u2019s What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Update (September 28, 2025):<\/strong> A pair of major victories for animals in the U.S. and overseas recently buoyed PETA\u2019s fight against cruel and pointless sepsis experiments. First, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that the agency would close an in-house laboratory<\/a> where experimenters conducted appalling sepsis tests on beagles, following more than\u00a0a decade of agitation<\/a>,\u00a0tens of thousands of emails to agency officials from PETA supporters<\/a>, and\u00a0a 2021 landmark lawsuit<\/a>. PETA U.K. then persuaded England\u2019s University of Kent<\/a> to become the first university in the world to commit to never again using animals in any sepsis research. While this hard-earned progress is indeed great, the battle to end these grotesque and meaningless experiments is not over. Please TAKE ACTION below to urge NIH to impose a complete ban on cruel sepsis experiments on animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Immune systems are designed to keep the body healthy and fight off illnesses. But what happens when they go into overdrive and begin attacking the very tissues that they\u2019re supposed to protect? This serious condition is called <\/span>sepsis<\/span><\/b>\u2014and it affects <\/span>at least 1.7 million adults in the U.S. each year<\/span><\/a>, killing nearly 270,000 of them.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, sepsis experimenters opt for cruel, unreliable tests on other animals,\u00a0rather\u00a0than pursuing modern research methods. The more you learn about this\u00a0potentially deadly illness, the more you\u2019ll\u00a0want to\u00a0push for PETA\u2019s\u00a0Research Modernization NOW<\/a>, which outlines a plan\u00a0to replace tests on animals with human-relevant methods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, here are the facts on sepsis\u2014what it is, why sepsis experiments on other animals are useless, how PETA\u2019s progressive plan will push sepsis research forward, and more.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Sepsis?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sepsis\u2014the body\u2019s extreme response to an infection\u2014develops when the chemicals that the body releases to fight off an infection cause inflammation throughout the entire body instead.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does Sepsis Affect the Body?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fatal toll of sepsis\u2014which contributes to anywhere from one-third to one-half of all in-hospital deaths\u2014is partially because of the rapidity of its progress. If it isn\u2019t detected and addressed as soon as possible, it can lead to septic shock\u2014a significant drop in blood pressure that causes heart failure, organ failure, strokes, and death.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Treatments Are Available for Sepsis?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite decades of sepsis experiments and dozens of clinical trials, there are no specific treatments for sepsis\u2014or even new, effective technology to diagnose it. This is alarming, considering that the early diagnosis of sepsis is critical (sometimes even the difference between life and death). Current treatments for sepsis patients focus on controlling the underlying infection, but with the difficulty of detecting sepsis in the first place, these methods often fail.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>It\u2019s no surprise that there haven\u2019t been major advancements in sepsis research when many laboratories are still using the same failed methods\u2014experiments on other animals, who are poor models for studying human illnesses\u2014instead of prioritizing modern research.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Do Experimenters Use Mice in Sepsis Experiments?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mice are the animals most commonly used in sepsis experiments, even though their biology and physiology differ vastly from those of humans. Experimenters exploit and kill mice in these tests simply out of convenience\u2014the animals are cheap, plentiful, and small.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Small<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Are Mice Reliable Models for Studying Sepsis in Humans?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No. All sepsis treatments developed using mice have failed in human trials because the results produced by tests on mice don\u2019t translate to humans.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a landmark 2013 study, 39 researchers from Stanford University, Harvard University, and other esteemed institutions found that when it comes to serious inflammatory conditions such as sepsis, burns, and trauma, results from mice can never be applied to humans because of their vastly different genetic responses.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), acknowledged the time and resources wasted on sepsis experiments on mice. He called the catastrophe\u2014in which 150 drugs successfully treated sepsis in mice but failed in human trials\u2014a \u201cheartbreaking loss of decades of research and billions of dollars<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Do Sepsis Experiments on Mice Entail?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In laboratories across the U.S., animal experimenters use cruel and invasive methods to induce sepsis in mice. They <\/span>puncture the animals\u2019 intestines<\/span><\/a> so that fecal matter and bacteria leak into their stomachs, insert stents into the animals\u2019 colons so that the fecal matter leaks continuously into their bodies, and shove thick gavage tubes down the animal\u2019s throats and pump harmful bacteria into their stomachs. In a test reminiscent of <\/span>The Human Centipede<\/span><\/i>, experimenters stitch mice together along the length of their bodies, inject toxins into them, and introduce feces from one mouse into the abdominal cavity of another.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>Then, the infection ravages their small, fragile bodies, causing debilitating abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, and multi-organ failure. They eventually become so sick that they\u2019re unable to move.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are the Alternatives to Using Mice and Other Animals in Sepsis Experiments?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Human-relevant research methods, like human-cell and computer modeling, can help scientists explore how sepsis progresses, how it affects individuals differently, who is more at risk, and much more\u2014and these methods have been hailed by experts. A 2015 study conducted by veterinarians, animal technologists, and scientists found that human genomic information could \u201creplace the need for mouse models in disease discovery and drug development.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PETA has relentlessly pushed the scientific community to embrace these methods. Our actions have included organizing <\/span>eye-catching demonstrations<\/span><\/a>, releasing a <\/span>shocking eyewitness investigation<\/span><\/a>, gathering hundreds of thousands of e-mails from supporters, and <\/span>presenting the case against using animals in sepsis experiments at an international scientific conference. Finally, in 2019, <\/span>NIH announced<\/span><\/a> its intention to prioritize animal-free research. <\/span>This is just the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No Matter What, Other Animals Don\u2019t Belong in Labs<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mice are sensitive and intelligent, and they care about their families and peers. Mutilating, poisoning, and killing them in laboratories isn\u2019t just wrong because these experiments are useless\u2014it\u2019s wrong because mice <\/span>feel<\/span><\/i>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Help individuals trapped in labs by taking action below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Speak up for mice used in sepsis experiments<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sepsis kills 270,000 American adults each year, but laboratories still use animals in failed experiments. 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