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DrugStudy writes, "Everyone should receive a Tetanus shot at least every ten years, and sometimes sooner."
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DSI Newsletters, Issue 3:
Tetanus
Vaccination Against: Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis
Current recommendations are for everyone to receive a Tetanus Shot every 10 years prophylactically. The current shot has two things in it: Tetanus and Diphtheria. Aventis Pasteur is working on a new vaccine that will have three things in it: Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Whooping Cough).
Vaccines for You
Vaccines are the most powerful tools to protect you against disease. They safeguard millions of children and adults from life-threatening illnesses, including: polio; tetanus, diphtheria; pertussis (whooping cough); yellow fever; Japanese encephalitis; measles; Hepatitis A and B; meningitis and influenza (the flu).
Thanks to vaccines, smallpox disease has been eliminated from our planet. Wild poliovirus no longer circulates in most countries.
Vaccines are also the most economical intervention, offering a sensible approach to reducing health care costs associated with infectious disease.
Disease prevention successes such as these are largely attributed to the dedication and alliance of the immunization community, encompassing physicians, nurses, researchers, public policy makers, public health organizations and parents.
Tetanus (Lock-Jaw)
Tetanus is a severe toxin producing infection caused by the anaerobic bacteria (bug), Clostridium tetani. This acute infectious disease is characterized by severe muscle spasms and contractions. It is usually contracted following a benign injury (minor boo-boo) or contaminated wounds. The most tetanus-prone wound would be the classic stepping on a rusty nail and sustaining a puncture wound. Tetanus spores can live on fomites (things, like surgeons' scalpels, books, etc.) and wake up later with any wound, even a paper cut, and cause a problem. There are cases of tetanus each year in America. Nowadays, they usually occur from a wound that is not tetanus prone, as everyone who steps on a rusty nail rushes to get a tetanus shot.
Diphtheria
Mass diphtheria immunization has led to a spectacular reduction in the number of diphtheria cases in the industrialized world. In 1926, there were 206,939 cases reported, whereas only three cases in 1998.
Diphtheria is a contagious, airborne, toxin-producing infection that is caused by the bug: C. diphtheriae. It is characterized by the formation of a gray resistant pseudomembraine in the lining of the mucus membrane of the upper respiratory tract as well as the tonsils. Certain forms of the disease may be fatal.
Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
The widespread use of pertussis immunization has led to a spectacular decline in associated morbidity and mortality in most industrialized countries. Pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial infection that easily spreads and infects children. There are about 40 million cases of pertussis worldwide each year and about 360,000 children needlessly die from lack of vaccination. In 1979 WHO estimated that the pertussis vaccine led to a 61% reduction in pertussis related medical costs. Most pertussis is caused by infection with the bacteria B. pertussis. Occasionally it occurs from B. parapertussis. It is manifested by a persistent cough lasting more than 21 days characterized by long severe bouts of coughing. The illness can be serious and even fatal to infants.
Immunization Strategies
Current recommendations are for everyone to receive a Tetanus-diphtheria vaccination at least every 10 years to maintain your immunity. If you get a tetanus prone wound, we then recommend that you receive the shot at least every five years. This will ensure that if this bacteria gets into your system, for example, from a paper cut, that your white blood cells will have a "heads-up" on this bacteria. They are sort of equipped with machine guns and an early warning tracking system that alerts your immune system that the invading bacteria is present and needs to be eradicated immediately.
Roadblocks to Routine Immunization
Many people think that they only need a tetanus shot when they step on a rusty nail, despite current recommendations stating everyone should have one at least every ten years. That's why we see tetanus here in America too often from minor wounds. The key is education and better communication of this miracle of immunization. If you think about how our wonder drugs are becoming less and less effective each year due to antibiotic resistance, immunization provides another method to kill the bugs and to prevent the growing problem of drug resistance.
Aventis Pasteur is made a new tetanus shot. This new one contains three things: tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. The thinking was that the pertussis bug can be found in adults, even though it usually doesn't make them sick. Recent pediatric literature points to children becoming infected with pertussis from their parents passing the bug along to them. If the pertussis vaccine were placed in the tetanus shot we administer every ten years, our children and our community would be healthier.
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Posted on Aug 01, 2005 08:23am.
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