Medical Questions » Vaccinations, Adult Questions » Question No. 998
| Question: | What causes tetanus? is it a serious disease? Why do doctors insist on jabbing everyone who has a cut with a tetanus shot? |
| Answer: | A bacteria called Clostridium tetani can live quite harmlessly in the gut of many animals, particularly horses. When it passes out of their bodies in faeces it forms a hard microscopic cyst which then contaminates the soil and waits for a chance to return to active life. The bacteria can remain inactive for many years until it enters a cut or wound in the dirt or dust that may be around when the tissues are exposed.
Once it has infected a cut, it starrs multiplying and produces a chemical which is absorbed into the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body. This chemical (a toxin) attacks the small muscles used for chewing our food, making it difficult to open the mouth. Thus the common name for tetanus is lockjaw. The toxin gradually attacks larger and larger muscles, irritating them and causing them to go into severe spasm.
These spasms are similar to the cramps you may experience in your leg at night, except they are more severe and can attack every muscle in your body. The patient remains conscious throughout the disease, but eventually the muscles which control breathing and the heart are affected, and the patient dies.
There are very few effective treatments for tetanus, because although the bacteria may be killed, the toxin remains in the body. Tetanus can be prevented by vaccination, but it cannot be cured.
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