ABSTRACT
Although the majority of febrile illnesses in young children are caused by viruses, up to 5% of young children with a significant fever without an obvious focus will have bacteremia, usually pneumococcal. Infants usually present with non-specific symptoms and signs of illness, and localising signs of organ-system disease are often lacking. General aspects of the child’s behavior and appearance provide the best indication of whether a serious infection is likely. Neither the degree of the fever, its rapidity of onset nor its response to antipyretics are good predictors of serious illness by themselves.
