Bacteria in the blood of children
Bacteria in the blood occur most frequently in children up to the age of three years. Similar to adults, they can manifest themselves in a wide spectrum from a state without symptoms, through severe clinical pictures in the context of pneumonia or meningitis, to the occurrence of blood poisoning. Depending on the age, the function of the immune system and the vaccination status of the child, threatening clinical pictures are triggered by different types of bacteria in children; It is particularly noticeable that with a decrease in the so-called net protection (presence of antibodies against many pathogens that were transmitted from the mother to her unborn child during pregnancy) after the third month of life, the spectrum of pathogens such as Echerichia coli (intestinal germ) or Salmonella shifts towards bacteria that can trigger, for example, pneumonia (Streptococcus pneumoniae) or meningitis (Neisseria meninigtidis).
If an infection with the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes is suspected, a quick test can be carried out easily at home. The immune system‘s response to the bacteria that have entered the bloodstream differs in only a few points from that of an adult in children: in infants, for example, instead of a fever, hypothermia can occur with body temperatures below 36 °C. If meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis occurs, which is significantly more common in children than in adults, the clinical picture includes not only fever but also the development of petechiae (small, pinhead-sized bleedings into the skin) as the bacteria enter the bloodstream. The immune system‘s response to the bacteria that have entered the blood differs in only a few points from that of an adult in children: in infants, for example, instead of a fever, hypothermia with body temperatures below 36 °C can occur. If meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis occurs, which is significantly more common in children than in adults, the clinical picture includes not only fever but also the development of petechiae (small, pinhead-sized bleedings into the skin) as the bacteria enter the bloodstream.
Bacteria in the baby’s blood
An infection with bacteria in a baby’s blood is also called neonatal sepsis. Children who are born prematurely as well as those with a low birth weight have an increased risk of neonatal sepsis. The infant’s immature immune system is particularly susceptible to external infections.
An “early stage” sepsis is triggered before or during birth. It is usually the intestinal bacterium E. coli or B-streptococci. In contrast, “late sepsis” occurs a few days to a week after birth.
In the majority of cases, it is also bacteria from the mother’s birth canal. During pregnancy and in the period after birth, the newborn baby receives a so-called loan immunity from the mother (“nest protection”). In this process, antibodies of the mother are passed on to the baby through the placenta during pregnancy and through the breast milk during breastfeeding.
If bacteria or other pathogens are not sufficiently combated, they can spread in the blood. The immune system reacts with a strong inflammatory reaction. Without timely treatment with antibiotics, the loss of function of vital organs can lead to death within a few hours.
As soon as bacteria in the baby’s blood are suspected, an “empirical” antibiotic therapy is started. This means that the underlying bacterium has not yet been precisely identified and therefore the therapy is directed against the statistically most common bacteria in newborns.
