A person with sepsis has a life-threatening infection of the bloodstream. This can occur when bacteria, from an infection in another organ, spreads into the bloodstream.

The most common sources of sepsis are bacterial infections of the skin, lungs, bone, and abdominal organs.

About 3 out of 1,000 people develop sepsis in the US each year. About 10 to 50 percent of people with sepsis die from the disease, depending on the severity of the infection that caused sepsis.