Tetanus: Case Report, Epidemiology

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To  describe  a  rare  case  with  generalized  tetanus  to  reinforce  the  relevance  of  early  detection  and management. Case report: A 38 year old Pakistani man presented with neck stiffness to the emergency room 12 d after he had trivial nail injury to his foot for which he didn’t need to seek any medical advice. Tetanus was diagnosed based on clinical symptoms and history. The management consist of antibiotics therapy with penicillin-metronidazole, tetanus toxoid and tetanus immunoglobulin with other supportive measure in the ICU. The patient had full recovery after 6 way in ICU followed by intensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Tetanus is a forgotten disease in the Kingdom of Bahrain and many practicing physicians have not seen a case of the disease in their career.

Tetanus is a potentially lethal disease due to the effect of neuro tropic exotoxin produced Clostridium tetani, which is gram-positive, spore forming non-encapsulated bacillus that is present naturally in the soil and wider environment throughout the world, it can penetrates into the human body through soil contaminated wound or bite, once in a suitable anaerobic environment such as a contaminated wound, the spores are able to germinate and the bacteria multiply at the wound site and release tetanus toxin that diffuses into the body. Due to the continued presence of Clostridium tetani spores in the environment, and given that herd immunity plays no part in tetanus prevention; complete eradication of tetanus is unlikely and cases will continue  to  occur  and  the  best  preventive  strategy  is  through immunization and proper treatment of wounds and traumatic injuries.

Tetanus  is classified  into  four  symptomatic  types:  neonatal, generalized,  which  represents  the  most  frequent  form  (more  than80%), local and cephalic. The diagnosis is essentially clinical while the  treatment  needs  to  be  considered  a  matter  of  emergency  and lifesaving. Although the organism is widely distributed throughout the world, this disease disproportionately affects developing countries due to insufficient immunization coverage.

Media Contact:

Allison Grey
Journal Manager
Journal of Infectious Diseases and Diagnosis
Email: jidd@microbialjournals.com