What is it?
Tetanus is an acute and serious infection caused by the tetanus bacillus toxin Clostridium tetani, which enters the body through wounds or skin lesions. It is not transmitted from person-to-person.
What are the symptoms?
Tetanus is characterized by:
- muscle spasms
- Cramps
- seizures (which result from the multiplication of bacteria and the release of toxins)
These effects, when they happen in the jaw muscles, do not allow the mouth to open. When they occur in the respiratory muscles, they can cause death by suffocation.
Infection of the newborn (neonatal tetanus) is rare, but it can occur, especially in deliveries outside hospital settings, when contaminated objects are used to cut the umbilical cord.
How is it transmitted?
Tetanus is transmitted by contaminating any type of wound with the spore of the bacterium Clostridium tetani, which is found in the environment.
What is the incubation period?
The average incubation period for tetanus is 10 days (ranging from 2 to 21 days). In neonatal tetanus ("seven-day sickness") it is, on average, 7 days (usually between 4 and 14 days).
Is there vaccination?
yes. The National Vaccination Program includes a vaccine that should be administered at 2, 4, 6, 18 months and 5, 10, 25, 45, 65 years and then every 10 years. Pregnant women should get vaccinated in each pregnancy. More information can be found in the guide Vaccines.
Source: Directorate-General for Health (DGS)