This is tetanus also known as lockjaw. 

This is tetanus also known as lockjaw.  

It is caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani which is commonly found in soil.  This bacterium produces a toxin creatively named the tetanus toxin.  The bacteria themselves cause damage but the toxin produces the truly dangerous effects that cause muscles to lock up.  

Tetanus is known as lockjaw because of the common symptom that causes the jaw to become stiff and eventually almost impossible to voluntarily open.  The tetanus toxin causes the muscles in the neck and jaw to first become sore then stiff and spasm.  This alone would not be lethal but as the symptoms progress and more toxin is produced swallowing becomes difficult and then the abdominal muscles start to become sore and stiff eventually leading to spasms that can be triggered by almost any minor occurrence such as a light breeze or any change in light conditions. These spasms are similar to seizures and if untreated can cause death by either breaking of the bones causing them to puncture organs such as the lungs or the more common severe tetanus-induced muscle spasms that can stop breathing for prolonged periods of time causing the person to slowly suffocate.  Neither is a pleasant or quick death.  

Tetanus can be contracted any time the skin is broken.  This has given rise to the idea that rusty nails and similar metal objects are where the bacterium lives.  While they are often the cause of the cut which allows the bacterium to enter the bacterium itself lives in the soil.  This means that it is a constant danger to those that are not protected.  

Luckily there is an easy defense against Clostridium tetani, vaccination.  There are currently four types of vaccine that protect against tetanus.  These are: the diphtheria and tetanus (DT) vaccines, the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccines, the tetanus and diphtheria (Td) vaccines, and the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccines.  While many are similar, they all offer slightly different protections and are made for different age groups.  Babies and children younger than 7 years old receive DTaP or DT, while older children and adults receive Tdap and Td.  To give an example the DTaP vaccine is a series of five shots at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months, and 4-6 years of age while the Td vaccine acts as a booster and is often given in combination with diphtheria (the d in Td).  The Tdap is recommended between ages 11 and 12 with the Td booster every ten years afterward.  

The reason for boosters is that unlike many vaccines this one needs to counteract two different pathogens.  The bacterium itself changes in a 10-year period and as such needs to be updated occasionally.  The toxin itself is a bigger problem as it causes more damage.  Memory cells have a harder time remembering toxins and combatting them as the method of damage is more chemical than biological which makes many standard countermeasures the body uses less effective.  The vaccine is a toxoid vaccine which includes the inactivated version of the tetanus toxin to help remind the memory cells how to combat it more effectively.  This also helps lessen the amount of toxin that will initially bind to nerve cells before your body’s countermeasures are in place.  

The treatment for tetanus is administration of the antitoxin, usually tetanus immune globulin, but it is only effective against toxin that has not yet bound to the nerve cells.  This combats the toxin itself but does not attack the bacteria acting as factories for the toxin.  Antibiotics are commonly used to kill the bacterium and the wound is often cleaned out to try to remove them before antibiotics are begun.  

Due to the relatively high vaccination rate and the efficacy of the vaccine, approximately 99% for ten years, fatal cases are uncommon in much of the world.  However, that was not always the case.  The vaccine was developed in 1924 but did not come into common use until it was used by soldiers in WWII where it reduced cases by 95%.  Keep vaccinating to prevent this horrific disease.

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