TETANUS

Muscular System: Tetanus

Tetanus

Introduction

Tetanus (also called lockjaw or trismus) is a serious, often fatal disease that affects the muscles and nerves. Although tetanus can be serious, the good news is that it's rare in the United States.

Tetanus

Tetanus is caused by a type of bacteria called Clostridium tetani that usually live in soil. The bacteria produce a toxin (a chemical or poison that harms the body). This toxin attaches to nerves around a wound area and is carried inside the nerves to the brain or spinal cord. There it interferes with the normal activity of nerves, especially the motor nerves that send direct messages to our muscles. Tetanus is not contagious — you can't catch it from someone who has it.

Neonatal (newborn) tetanus can occur when a baby is delivered in unsanitary conditions, especially if the cut umbilical cord is contaminated after the baby is born. Before immunizations (vaccines that help the body fight certain illnesses) were available, neonatal tetanus was a common cause of newborn death because the disease is almost always fatal in infants. Because of improved surgical procedures and techniques for cutting the umbilical cord, however, newborn tetanus is now rare in developed countries.

Starting at 2 months of age, all babies in the United States are routinely vaccinated against tetanus. But in developing countries where there's no effective prevention and immunization program against tetanus, the disease is much more common than it is.

Signs and Symptoms

Tetanus often begins with muscle spasms in the jaw and face, together with difficulty swallowing and stiffness or pain in muscles in the neck, shoulder, or back. The muscle spasms can be severe and can quickly spread to muscles of the abdomen, upper arms, and thighs. The symptoms of tetanus usually appear anywhere from 3 to 14 days after the person has become infected.

Prevent Tetanus

The ...