- There may be a local source of infection.
- At first the child may feel generally unwell but not have any specific signs. It is, therefore, often difficult to make an early clinical diagnosis of septicaemia. As the septicaemia becomes worse the child appears seriously ill.
- Fever is almost always present.
- The patient may become shocked (septic shock).
- Shock leads to failure of many organs such as the kidney and lungs.
Children with septicaemia are seriously ill, often without an obvious site of infection.