Why scary stories about sepsis could lead to some unintended harms

There’s no shortage of frightening news about healthy young people suddenly felled by sepsis, a condition in which the body’s immune system goes into overdrive in response to an infection.

Never mind that most people who get sepsis in the U.S. are older adults, and that others at high risk include infants, women giving birth, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses such as diabetes or cancer.