Vikash Degree College

Bargarh

A SEMINAR ON THE TOPIC

TETANUS
Guided by : Submitted by :
Ankit Ku. Panda Subodha Padhan
Sweta Mohanty B.Sc. 1st sem
CONTENT :
Introduction
Causative Agent
Epidemiology
Transmission
Route Of Entry
Action of Tetanus Toxin and mechanism
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
Vaccination
Conclusion
Introduction :
• Tetanus is a serious bacterial infection that affects the nervous
system, leading to painful muscle contractions, particularly of
the jaw and neck muscles. It is also known as ‘lockjaw’.
• Tetanus can interfere with the ability to breathe and can result
in death. Cases of tetanus are rare in the developed world but
the incidence is much higher in developing countries. There
are around one million cases worldwide every year.
Causative Agent:

• Caused by Clostridium tetani.

• It is motile, oval and colourless.
• It is found worldwide in soil, in
inanimate environment, in animal faeces
& occasionally human faeces.
Epidemiology:
• Tetanus is an international health problem, as spores are present
everywhere. The disease occurs almost exclusively in persons who are
unvaccinated or inadequately immunized.
• It is an entirely preventable disease by immunization.
• Tetanus occurs worldwide but is more common in hot, damp climates
with soil rich in organic matter.
• It is more common in developing and under developing countries.
• It is more prevalent in industrial establishment, where agricultural
workers are employed.
Transmission:
• Tetanus is not transmitted from person to person. Infection occurs
when C. tetani spores are introduced into acute wounds from
surgeries and infections, or chronic skin lesions and infections.
• Cases have resulted from wounds that were considered too trivial to
warrant medical attention.
• The incubation period of tetanus is usually between 3 and 21 days
(median 7 days).
• Shorter incubation periods (<7 days) along with delays in seeking
treating are associated with fatal outcomes.
Route Of Entry :
• Apparently trivial injuries
• Animal bites or human bites
• Open fractures
• Burns
• Surgical wounds
• Injection drugs
• In neonates usually via infected umbilical stumps
• Ear infection
• Infected foot ulcers
Action of Tetanus Toxin :
• C. tetani enters the body through injury.
• It stays in sporulated form until anaerobic conditions are
presented.
• It germinates under anaerobic conditions and begins to
multiply and produce tetanospasmin.
• Tetanospasmin spreads using blood and lymphatic system and
binds to motor neurons.
• Travels along the axons to the spinal cord.
• Binds to the sites responsible for inhibiting skeletal muscle
contraction.
 Mechanism :
• It blocks the release of inhibitory
neurotransmitters (glycine &
gamma- aminobutyric acid) across
the synaptic cleft, which is
required to check the nerve
impulse.
• If nerve impulse cannot be
checked by normal inhibitory
mechanisms, it leads to unopposed
muscular contraction and spasms
that are characteristic of tetanus.
Symptoms:
• Neck stiffness
• Restlessness
• Headache
• Fever
• Sweating
• Rapid heartbeats
Diagnosis :
• There are currently no
blood tests can be
used to diagnose
tetanus.
• Diagnosis is done
clinically based on the
presence of trismus ,
generalized muscular
rigidity and spasm.
 Treatment
• Doctor prescribes penicillin or metronidazole for
tetanus treatment.
• These antibiotics prevents the bacterium from
multiplying and producing the neurotoxin that
causes muscles spasms and stiffness.
• Patients who are allergic to penicillin or
metronidazole may be given tetracycline instead.
• If doctor thinks the tetanus prone wound is very
large, they may surgically remove as much of the
damaged & infected muscle as possible.
Prevention
•Tetanus is completely
preventable by active tetanus
immunization.

•Immunization is thought to
provide protection for 10 years.

•The prevention of tetanus is

particularly important because it
is difficult to treat when someone
is already infected with the
spore-producing bacteria.
 Vaccination
• The vaccine is highly effective and almost all cases of tetanus
occur in individuals who have not been vaccinated in the
preceding ten years.
• It works well as a preventative shortly following the
immunization upto 5 years and slowly decreases in efficacy
after this time.
• For this reason, it is recommended that people be vaccinated
at least once every 10 years.
 Conclusion :
• Tetanus is still not an uncommon disease in
our setting, although it is a totally
preventable disease and is associated with
very high morbidity and mortality.
• Males, especially the farmers, are commonly
affected.
• The incidence of tetanus can be reduced
significantly by an effective immunization
program especially in the farmers and proper
wound management of the injured as well as
public awareness programmes.