Madonna’s manager announced June 28 that she’d been hospitalized for a bacterial infection and in the intensive care unit, and that she’d be postponing her upcoming Celebration Tour, leading to questions about the illness that made her so sick.
Dr. Natalie Azar, medical correspondent for NBC News, described how a bacterial infection could cause someone to be admitted to the intensive care unit in a segment aired on TODAY June 29.
What is a bacterial infection?
Bacterial infections are any illnesses caused by bacterial growth or toxins, according to Cleveland Clinic. The most common types of bacterial infections include infections in the lung, urinary tract, skin or GI tract, Azar said.
For example, Salmonella in food can cause a bacterial infection and lead to food poisoning. Lyme disease, which can cause a range of symptoms, is also due to bacteria passed through tick bites. Strep throat is another type of bacterial infection that usually only causes mild illness but can be deadly if it becomes invasive, meaning the bacteria spread to a part of the body where it doesn’t normally go.
Bacterial infections can be caused by “harmful bacteria” from a person, animal, an infected substance or another aspect of your environment, or they can be caused by good bacteria getting to a place in your body where it shouldn’t be, per the Cleveland Clinic.
People who are most susceptible to bacterial infections include those with diabetes, a weakened immune system, an open wound or those who had surgery recently, Cleveland Clinic noted.
What kind of bacterial infection does Madonna have?
Oseary did not disclose in his announcement what kind of bacterial infection Madonna has. However, Azar speculated that a condition called sepsis may have landed the music legend in the ICU.
“Typically, admission to the ICU would happen if the doctors are concerned that somebody either is perhaps becoming septic or may have sepsis, which is a potentially life-threatening emergency that can happen when…
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