When you get an infection, your immune system usually fights it off and helps you get better. But sometimes, the immune system overacts.

Instead of just targeting the infection, the immune system starts to attack the body’s tissues and organs and inflammation spreads throughout the body very quickly. This causes blood vessels to leak and tiny blood clots to form which can damage tissues and organs like the kidneys, heart, lungs, and brain.

This harmful immune response is called sepsis.

The most common infections that lead to sepsis are lung infections (like pneumonia) and urinary tract infections (UTIs) but any infection, even an infected scratch on the skin or appendicitis, can lead to sepsis. These infections are usually from bacteria which is why antibiotics are an important part of treatment.

Yes, anyone can get sepsis. It can happen to people of any age, even if you’re young and healthy.

Those more at risk of sepsis include:

• babies or children aged under five years (especially babies under 3 months old)
• people who are malnourished, frail or aged over 65 years
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• pregnant or recently pregnant women
• people with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, lung disease, cancer, and kidney disease
• people with weakened immune systems or on medications (for example, from cancer treatment or some medications like steroids)
• people with an infection that isn’t getting better
• people who have had sepsis before. 

There is no simple test for sepsis. Doctors use a few different checks to diagnose sepsis:

• you will be asked about your symptoms
• your vital signs will be checked (such as temperature, heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure)
• a blood test may be requested
• other tests like x-rays or scans may also be needed.

Sepsis is hard to recognise and diagnose, especially in the early stages.

If doctors think you might have sepsis, they will start treatment straight away – even before all the test results are back. Acting fast gives you the best chance of recovery.

Sepsis must be treated in hospital as sepsis can worsen very quickly, and sometimes if a person is seriously unwell they will be treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Treatment may include:

• oxygen or breathing support (i.e. ventilation)
• intravenous fluids through a drip (i.e. IV)
• medicines such as antibiotics to treat the infection
• other medicines to support your heart and blood pressure.

Your health care team will try and find and treat the source of infection which may mean removing an infected device (such as a catheter) or having surgery to drain an abscess.

Treatment needs to start as soon as possible – every hour counts with sepsis.

No, you can’t catch sepsis from someone else.

Some infections that may lead to sepsis, like the flu, can spread to others – but not sepsis itself.  In some cases, the underlying infection may be a notifiable disease which means doctors must report it to health authorities to help stop it spreading to others. 

No, but there are things you can do to lower the risk of infections that may lead to sepsis:

• wash or sanitise your hands often, and cover your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue (and discard immediately)
• don’t share personal items (e.g. razors, toothbrushes)
• cover scrapes, cuts and wounds and keep them clean until healed
• keep up-to-date with recommended vaccinations
• speak to your doctor regularly if you have a chronic health condition such as diabetes, lung disease or kidney disease – and follow their advice, including taking prescribed medicines.

If you think you may have an infection, getting treatment early can also stop an infection from turning into sepsis. 

Find out more about ways infectious diseases spread.

• Sepsis is the correct medical term. It means the body is having a harmful reaction to an infection, which can lead to organ damage and even death if not treated quickly (and is sometimes called ‘being septic’).
  
• Septicaemia is an older term that used to describe bacteria in the blood. It’s not used as often now because it doesn’t explain what’s really happening in the body during sepsis.
  
• Blood poisoning is a non-medical term that people sometimes use instead of ‘sepsis’ or ‘septicaemia’. It sounds scary, but it’s not very accurate as there’s no actual poison in the blood.

So while ‘blood poisoning’ or ‘septicaemia’ are sometimes used, doctors mainly use the word ‘sepsis’ now, to describe this life-threatening condition.

Acting early is key – know the signs of sepsis in babies and children, and also in adults – it could save a life.