A serious inflammation or infection of the epiglottis that can block the airway and requires immediate medical attention.
From epiglottis + -itis (inflammation). Standard medical terminology from Greek combining epi- (upon) + glottis (vocal opening).
Before the Hib vaccine, epiglottitis was terrifying because it could develop in hours and completely close off a child's airway—now it's rare, which shows how vaccines literally saved lives!
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