children s health issues
Occult Bacteremia
Introduction
Occult (hidden) bacteremia is the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream of a child who has a fever but who looks well and has no obvious source of infection. Most commonly, occult bacteremia is caused byStreptococcus pneumoniaebacteria. Typically, children have no symptoms other than fever. The diagnosis is based on blood tests. Routine childhood vaccination can prevent infection byStreptococcus pneumoniae. Antibiotics can eliminate the infection. (See also Bacteremia in adults.) Children younger than 3 years commonly develop fevers. Most of the time, they have other symptoms, such as a cough and runny nose, which help doctors diagnose the cause of the fever. Sometimes, however, children have fever and no other symptoms. That is, they have a fever with no apparent source or cause. In most of these children, the fever is caused by a viral infection that goes away without treatment. In some of these children, a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in Children is present. In a few children who have fever with no obvious cause, the fever is caused by bacteria circulating in their bloodstream (bacteremia). Circulating bacteria are almost never the cause of fever in older children or adults who have no other symptoms. . In infants and young children, these bacteria circulating in the bloodstream could attack various organs, resulting in serious illnesses, such as Overview of Pneumonia , Now, Childhood Vaccination Schedules of infants with the Children who have received their recommended vaccines are very unlikely to develop occult bacteremia. (See also Overview of Bacterial Infections in Children .) 