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Tetanus

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Bacterial Infections of Humans

Abstract

Tetanus is a noncommunicable infectious disease of humans and certain animal species, acquired usually through environmental exposure. Clostridium tetani is an anaerobic, spore-forming bacilli of the soil. The ubiquitous spores germinate to vegetative bacilli when introduced into the soft tissues of the host under conditions in which the partial pressure of molecular oxygen is low. The vegetative organisms produce a potent neurotoxin that acts on the central nervous system, leading to the muscular contractions characteristic of the illness. Although a significant proportion of the global tetanus case burden occurs in adults and children following wounds, the major burden of tetanus in the world is borne by neonates, who are both (1) infected at or soon after birth and (2) born to mothers who are not adequately immunized. Prevention of tetanus can be achieved by active immunization with tetanus toxoid, which is chemically inactivated toxin, or by passive immunization with specific immune globulin as part of postexposure wound prophylaxis. Tetanus toxoid, which protects by inducing production of neutralizing antibodies, is both highly immunogenic and safe. Nearly 100% of recipients of a primary immunization series are protected.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, 30333, USA

    Roland W. Sutter, Walter A. Orenstein & Steven G. F. Wassilak

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  2. Walter A. Orenstein
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  3. Steven G. F. Wassilak
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  1. Late of Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Alfred S. Evans

  2. The Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Philip S. Brachman

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Sutter, R.W., Orenstein, W.A., Wassilak, S.G.F. (1998). Tetanus. In: Evans, A.S., Brachman, P.S. (eds) Bacterial Infections of Humans. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5327-4_38

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