At an isolated weather station in the central United States, a technician emerges from a small brick shed grasping a balloon. It's not just any birthday party balloon, mind you, but a massive, white sphere more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter.
Lung abscess can also be caused by the spread of other infections from the liver, abdominal cavity, or open chest wounds. Rarely, AIDS patients can develop lung abscess from Pneumocystis carinii and other organisms that take advantage of a weakened immune system. Lung abscess is usually slow to develop.
In the lungs, abscesses may be a complication of pneumonia. In the throat, peritonsillar (per-i-TON-si-lar) abscess may result from the spread of tonsillitis, infection of the tonsils * . Peritonsillar abscess occurs frequently in young adults. Abscesses may also occur in the brain and in other organs of the body.