When toxin from bacteria in soil enters skin wounds.
- Commonly transmitted through cuts from gardening (particularly rose thorns), animal bites and rusted metal
- Those most at risk include the very young and the very old
- Symptoms include painful muscle spasm (lock jaw) and convulsion
- About 1 in 10 people with tetanus die
- The vaccination is now usually given combined with diphtheria, and/or whooping cough and and/or polio
Tetanus is a routine vaccination which may need to be updated prior to travel.
