Where is tetanus most likely to be found

Tetanus in the elderly: is it different from that in younger age groups? Gerontology ; 44 3 Health Protection Agency. London: Health Protection Agency; Yaramis A, Tas MA. Neonatal tetanus in the southeast of Turkey: risk factors, and clinical and prognostic aspects Review of 73 cases, The Turkish journal of pediatrics ; 42 4 Vaccines for women to prevent neonatal tetanus. Cochrane database of systematic reviews Online ; 4 :CD Tetanus in developing countries: an update on the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative.

Vaccine ; 21 24 Facts Surveillance and disease data Prevention and control. Disease factsheet about tetanus Factsheet. Twitter Facebook Linked In Mail. The pathogen Clostridium tetani is an obligate anaerobic Gram-positive bacillus. The tetanus bacillus forms spores that can be found in soil and house dust, and in animal and human faeces. The spores remain viable for years in the environment and are resistant to boiling and freezing.

Direct contamination of wounds with C. The spores develop into a vegetative form of the bacilli which produces and releases a neurotropic exotoxin called tetanospasmin. Tetanus toxin is one of the most potent toxins known in relation to its weight.

It is transported with blood and lymph, and taken up via endocytosis by nerve cells at the neuromuscular junctions after which it is transported centripetally inside the axons. Once inside the neurons, tetanus toxin cannot be neutralised by antitoxin. The tetanus toxin acts on four areas of the nervous system: a the motor end plates in the skeletal system; b the spinal cord; c the brain; and d the sympathetic system.

The toxin blocks the release of the inhibitory neurotransmitters glycine and gamma-amino-butyric acid in the central nervous system.

This leaves excitatory nerve impulses unopposed resulting in muscle spasms. Clinical features and sequelae There are three clinical presentations of tetanus: generalized tetanus, which is the most common form; localised tetanus; and cephalic tetanus.

Reflex spasms are triggered by minor external stimuli such as noise, light or touch. Symptoms of tetanus may include stiffness of the jaw, abdominal, and back muscles, fast pulse, fever, sweating, painful muscle spasms and difficulty swallowing.

The tetanus vaccine can reduce the risk of the disease after an injury. Tetanus requires immediate medical attention and treatment with medications and tetanus antitoxin injections. Next steps Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your healthcare provider: Know the reason for your visit and what you want to happen. Before your visit, write down questions you want answered. Bring someone with you to help you ask questions and remember what your provider tells you.

At the visit, write down the name of a new diagnosis, and any new medicines, treatments, or tests. Also write down any new instructions your provider gives you. Know why a new medicine or treatment is prescribed, and how it will help you. Also know what the side effects are. Ask if your condition can be treated in other ways. Know why a test or procedure is recommended and what the results could mean. Know what to expect if you do not take the medicine or have the test or procedure. You can see this in the visualization.

The visualization also shows that the majority of tetanus cases in the past and today occur in children under the age of 5. Notably, if you switch the country in the chart to any high-income region, e. Central Europe, you will see that tetanus in children is almost absent in those places. This is in large part due to a highly effective childhood vaccine that we have available for this disease. However, even though South Asia still sees more cases of tetanus than any other region, in just three decades the incidence rate in the region has fallen fold, from close to half a million cases in to 33, in The map here shows the rates of new tetanus infections by country.

By clicking the play button you can see how this changed over time. In , Nepal, Eritrea, Pakistan and Afghanistan had the highest rates of tetanus in the world; all above 70 cases per , people. By , just two countries, South Sudan and Somalia, had the rates of tetanus cases greater than 10 per , people. In the chart you see death rates from tetanus by country. This is given as the number of tetanus deaths per , individuals, and is age-standardized to allow for comparisons between countries and over time.

You can view the total number of deaths by country here. Today we have an effective vaccine against tetanus. The vaccine is referred to as DTP and it contains ingredients that protect not only from tetanus but also from diphtheria and pertussis. Prior to , the number of tetanus cases had already declined in developed countries with good hygiene and immunization programmes. Since then, the global number of cases of tetanus and global coverage of vaccination against tetanus were monitored and allow a comparison.

As the coverage of tetanus vaccination increased, the number of tetanus cases declined. In the graph, tetanus cases are plotted against the number of people vaccinated. Two different data sets on the number of tetanus cases are available. These bacteria are in the environment and get into the body through breaks in the skin.

The spores can get into the body through broken skin, usually through injuries from contaminated objects. Tetanus bacteria are more likely to infect certain breaks in the skin.

These include:. The incubation period — time from exposure to illness — is usually between 3 and 21 days average 10 days. However, it may range from one day to several months, depending on the kind of wound.