KEIGHLEY-district schools are being urged to get involved in a campaign raising awareness of the potentially-fatal blood condition sepsis.

New educational resources have been produced to help spotlight the condition and its signs.

The Schools Against Sepsis initiative has been launched by the UK Sepsis Trust, with support from the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation.

Free materials – aimed at Key Stage Two level – include lesson plans, cartoons and a video.

Sepsis affects more than 250,000 people in the UK every year, of which around 25,000 are children.

More than 50,000 deaths occur annually due to the condition.

Signs of sepsis in children can include fast breathing, a fit or convulsion, a mottled or bluish look, a rash that doesn’t fade when you press it, lethargy or difficulty in waking, and the child may be abnormally cold to the touch.

In under-fives, indicators can include a child who is not feeding, is vomiting repeatedly or has not passed urine for 12 hours.

Dr Ron Daniels, of the UK Sepsis Trust, said: “Sepsis strikes indiscriminately, affecting the young and old and the previously fit and healthy. We want everyone to be able to recognise the signs.”

For more details, visit sepsistrust.org.