Rabies & Tetanus

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

HOW YOU GET IT

C. tetani spores usually enter the body of a person or an animal via a break in the skin. The bacterium cannot survive in the presence of oxygen, so puncture wounds create an ideal environment for tetanus bacteria because the inside of the wound is hard to clean and is not exposed to air. The most common punctures come from stepping on a nail, but other culprits include barbed wire, splinters, animal or insect bites, self-piercing and self-performed tattoos. Simple cuts and scrapes, if not properly cleaned, also can lead to a tetanus infection.

The spores — vegetative, resting stages — of C. tetani, in contrast to the bacterium itself, are resistant to heat and antiseptics, and are widely found in soil and in the intestines and feces of horses, sheep, cattle, chickens, dogs, cats, rats and guinea pigs. Fresh and composted manure-treated soil may contain higher levels of tetanus-causing bacteria. For this reason, and because of the nature of their work, farmers and homesteaders are at a higher risk of contracting tetanus than others.

SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT

Symptoms of tetanus normally appear about eight days after the bacterium enters the body, but can take anywhere from three to 21 days. In general, the further the injury is from the brain and the spinal cord (your central nervous system), the longer it takes to experience any symptoms. The incubation periods and the severity of symptoms are related to how much toxin is in the wound, and to the person’s level of protective immunity against the toxin.

Vaccination is the best way to diminish your risk of contracting tetanus. Two types of vaccines are available, depending on your age. For children younger than 7 years old, a vaccine called DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis) protects against three diseases: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). Tetanus/diphtheria (Td) boosters are given to children 11 years and older and to adults every 10 years.

According to Dr. Marty Roper, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC’s National Immunization Program, routine boosters are important, because tetanus is ubiquitous in the environment and immunity provided by vaccination wanes over time. Only 30 percent of people 70 or older in the United States have immunity to the disease. “Adults, especially young adults, tend not to think about immunization,” Roper says. “That is why tetanus occurs mostly in adults in the United States.”

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print