What Are the Three Conditions for Tetanus Infection?

Tetanus is an acute infectious disease caused by the invasion of Clostridium tetani into human wounds, growth and reproduction in anaerobic environments, and production of neurotrophic exotoxins. It is characterized by generalized muscular spasms. Clostridium tetani generally exists in human and animal feces as well as soil, and can cause infection through dust or direct contamination of wounds. There are three conditions for tetanus infection. Let's take a look at them.

a. Deep wound
b. Local tissue necrosis
c. The wound secretions often contain aerobic pyogenic bacteria and/or anaerobic bacteria. When both of the above two conditions are present, the possibility of tetanus should be taken seriously.

Tetanus is an acute infectious disease caused by the invasion of Clostridium tetani into human wounds, growth and reproduction in anaerobic environments, and production of neurotrophic exotoxins, characterized by generalized muscular spasms. This disease was common during wartime. Although the WHO has actively implemented a global immunization program for decades, there are still nearly one million cases of tetanus worldwide every year, and tens of thousands of newborns die from tetanus. The clinical features of the disease include difficulty in opening the mouth, locked jaw, and paroxysmal spasms of the muscles in the whole body or locally. In severe cases, patients may die due to laryngeal spasms or secondary severe lung infections.

Clostridium tetani is widely present in human and animal feces as well as soil, and can easily cause infection through dust or direct contamination of various wounds. People are generally susceptible to tetanus, and it can occur in all age groups, but it is more common in young and middle-aged males, especially farmers, because they have more opportunities for injury, and the environments they are in are easily contaminated by Clostridium tetani. Although Clostridium tetani does not invade the blood circulation and only grows and reproduces in local wounds, it can produce exotoxins that mainly invade the spinal cord and brainstem motor neurons. Therefore, patients usually exhibit severe neurological symptoms such as difficulty in opening the mouth, muscle spasms, and opisthotonos after onset.