Kolkata:Tetanus is an acute infectious disease caused by spores of the bacterium Clostridium tetani. The spores are found everywhere in the environment, particularly in soil, ash, intestinal tracts/feces of animals and humans, and on the surfaces of skin and rusty tools like nails, needles, barbed wire, etc. Being very resistant to heat and most antiseptics, the spores can survive for years.
Tetanus, or lockjaw, is a bacterial infection that is characterized by painful muscle spasms, serious complications, and can lead to eventual death. Tetanus is not transmitted from person-to-person. A person usually becomes infected with tetanus when dirt enters a wound or cut. The disease is caused by a potent neurotoxin that is produced by the bacteria in the absence of oxygen.
Anyone can get tetanus, but the disease is particularly common and serious in newborn babies and pregnant women who have not been sufficiently immunized with tetanus-toxoid-containing vaccines. Tetanus during pregnancy or within 6 weeks of the end of pregnancy is called "maternal tetanus", and tetanus within the first 28 days of life is called "neonatal tetanus".
The disease remains an important public health problem in many parts of the world, but especially in low-income countries or districts, where immunization coverage is low, and unclean birth practices are common.
Neonatal tetanus occurs when nonsterile instruments are used to cut the umbilical cord or when contaminated material is used to cover the umbilical stump. Deliveries carried out by people with unclean hands or on a contaminated surface are also risk factors.(UNI)