What causes sepsis?

Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to an infection becomes harmful. Infection causes your immune system releases chemicals into your blood to fight the infection.

These chemicals can cause generalised inflammation in the body making blood vessels leak and causing blood clots. These changes can damage all the body’s organs.

Almost any type of infections can lead to sepsis, this includes infections of the lungs, abdomen (such as appendicitis), urinary tract, skin, or other part of the body.

Infections acquired in hospitals or other healthcare settings (healthcare-associated infections), can also lead to sepsis.