By Melinda Yerka

This is a painting done by Sir Charles Bell in 1809 of a soldier dying of tetanus.  Doesn’t look too comfortable, hmm?  Tetanus is a condition brought on when certain bacteria, called Clostridium tetani, enter deep puncture wounds, such as the proverbial rusty nail, or in this soldier’s case, a dirty sword in battle.  Once inside the wound, C. tetani bacteria produce the tetanus toxin, which then migrates to the body’s central nervous system where it causes tetanus disease, characterized by intense muscle spasms.  70% to 80% of the people who contract tetanus die.  Unfortunately, many of these people today are newborn infants and their mothers.  Infection by C. tetani bacteria occurs in these cases when unclean instruments are used to cut umbilical cords or remove a fetus from the mother’s womb during live birth or abortion.  If the mother had been immunized against tetanus toxin, she and the infant (who would be born with some of its mother’s immunities) would have survived.

You may wonder why the mother was not immunized when vaccines against tetanus have been readily available for more than a generation.  In fact, it is because vaccinations are far less prevalent in poor countries than in wealthier nations such as the United States and much of Europe.  Furthermore, despite growing humanitarian interest in providing vaccines, the infrastructure of many developing nations is not sufficient to safely synthesize, transport, or store them.  Lack of pharmaceutical companies, efficient transportation systems, refrigerated warehouses, and knowledgeable physicians all play a role in the continued fight against tetanus.  Nevertheless, progress has been made since the early 1980′s, as depicted below in a graph from the World Health Organization (WHO).

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