Sepsis is when the immune system responds to a serious infection
by attacking the body's own organs and tissues. The infection
can originate in many body parts, including the lungs,
intestines, urinary tract, or skin. Sepsis causes the body's
normal reaction to infection to go into overdrive. Bacteria from
the infection and the toxins they create can change a person's
body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure, and prevent
the body's organs from working properly. Sepsis can be
frightening because it can lead to serious complications that
affect the kidneys, lungs, brain, and hearing, and can even
cause death. Sepsis can affect people of any age, but is more
common in: infants under 3 months, whose immune systems haven't
developed enough to fight off overwhelming infections people
with chronic medical conditions those whose immune systems are
compromised from conditions such as HIV If your infant has a
rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38°C), seems lethargic,
irritable, uninterested in eating, or seems to b