Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List
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Causes of Epiglottitis
Epiglottitis is usually caused by the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae B (or Hib), although sometimes it is caused by other bacteria and viruses such as the parainfluenza virus or a streptococcal infection.
Children are routinely immunised against Hib, but before the vaccination was introduced in the UK, epiglottitis was most common among children aged between two and seven It’s very rare for adults to get epiglottitis, but you are more likely to get it if your immune system doesn’t work properly, for example if you have had chemotherapy or if you have HIV.
Sometimes epiglottitis can be a complication of croup. Croup is inflammation of the vocal cords, windpipe, and small air tubes in the lungs. Sometimes epiglottitis is caused when an infection spreads from these areas to the epiglottis. Croup is more common than epiglottitis in children under 2.
