Competing interests: Tom Hellyer is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as an academic clinical lecturer and Paul Dark is supported by the Manchester NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. Paul Dark is on the clinical advisory board of DNA Electronics delegated by Salford Royal NHS Trust to advise on clinical applications and safety of rapid diagnostic technology for bloodstream infections. Ronan McMullan is involved in research with Randox Ltd for a point-of-care test in sepsis funded by a grant from Innovate UK. He has given lectures on fungal infections at educational meetings sponsored by Gilead.