Study staff collected demographic data, took a standardised clinical history, and performed a physical examination. Lactate levels was measured on-site with a point-of-care analyser. Additional clinical data were collected for inpatients during admission and at discharge. In a follow-up visit at day 28, vital status and data related to the original illness episode were documented. All data were recorded electronically using Open Data Kit (ODK). Plasma samples were analysed at UHN (Toronto, Canada) for biomarkers of immune and endothelial activation using Luminex and ELISA, and the biomarker results were merged with the rest of the dataset using study IDs. Data cleaning involved consistency checks and verifying data integrity to ensure accuracy before statistical analysis and sharing. For biomarker data, duplicate measurements were averaged and concentrations outside the dynamic range were assigned the highest limit of the standard curve or a value of one-third of the lowest limit.