bacteremia

noun

bac·ter·emia ˌbak-tə-ˈrē-mē-ə

: the presence of bacteria in the blood

Note: Bacteremia is often transient and asymptomatic but may be associated with invasion of the bloodstream from a usually localized source of infection (such as a skin wound, indwelling catheter, or urinary tract infection) and can lead to sepsis.

compare septicemia, viremia

bacteremic

ˌbak-tə-ˈrē-mik

adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Rarely, Salmonella infection causes bacteria to enter the bloodstream, also known as bacteremia. —

Amanda Macmillan, Health, 1 Mar. 2023 Comparison of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. —

Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2016 The types of infections most commonly resulting from GBS are bacteremia, sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis in newborns. —

Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 5 Dec. 2022 Adverse effects include bacteremia/sepsis, pneumonia, invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, and disseminated fungal infection. —

Chris Smith, BGR, 9 June 2022 One of the infections that spiked, rising by a third between the end of 2019 and the end of last year, was bacteremia—dissemination of infectious bacteria throughout the bloodstream, which can lead to sepsis and septic shock—caused by MRSA. —

Maryn Mckenna, Wired, 10 Sep. 2021 These protect against pneumonia and other serious diseases, such as meningitis and bacteremia, from the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, also called pneumococcus. —

Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 10 May 2021 The most common are a secondary bacterial pneumonia, or bacteremia (a rise of bacteria in the bloodstream), involving organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. —

David Pride, Scientific American, 7 Dec. 2020 Twenty of the 34 patients did become infected, including 11 patients with Covid-19. Fourteen developed a form of pneumonia linked to the bacterial infection, four of whom also had bacteremia, a blood infection. —

NBC News, 1 Dec. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bacteremia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, alteration of bacteriemia, from bacteri- + -emia

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of bacteremia was in 1873

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bacteremia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bacteremia. Accessed 31 May. 2023.

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Medical Definition

bacteremia

noun

bac·ter·emia

variants or chiefly British bacteraemia

ˌbak-tə-ˈrē-mē-ə

: the presence of bacteria in the blood

Note: Bacteremia is often transient and asymptomatic but may be associated with invasion of the bloodstream from a usually localized source of infection (as a skin wound, indwelling catheter, or urinary tract infection) and lead to sepsis.

compare septicemia, viremia

bacteremic adjective

or chiefly British bacteraemic

-mik