Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is caused by Clostridium tetani bacteria. If the bacteria get into an open wound, even a small cut, they can cause a tetanus infection. This can happen through street refuse, among other sources. The bacteria make a toxin that can spread through the body via the nervous system.
Factsheet on tetanus
How the bacteria are transmitted | From an animal bite or from street refuse getting into an open wound. People cannot infect each other. |
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Common symptoms | Cramping of the jaw muscles (clenched jaw), problems swallowing and breathing, bone fractures, high blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmia |
Which vaccinations protect against this disease? | DTaP-IPV-Hib-HBV vaccination, DTaP vaccination, and DT-IPV vaccination |
Tetanus starts with restlessness, irritability and headache. Then you develop cramping of the jaw muscles (clenched jaw). You may also have problems swallowing and breathing. Damage to the muscular and nervous systems may lead to high blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmia. Muscle contractions may cause bone fractures. If you are infected with tetanus, it usually takes 6 to 15 days before you become ill. It may also take several months.
You can be exposed to the tetanus bacteria from an animal bite or from street refuse getting into an open wound. This is especially likely if you often handle animals, manure or waste materials, such as farmers or sanitation workers. You can also get tetanus from an animal bite, or from a rosebush scratch while working in the garden. The bacteria make a toxin that can enter the body through the bloodstream and travel through your nervous system to the brain. People cannot infect each other.
Without treatment, tetanus is fatal. Because the bacteria work quickly and the toxin is the biggest source of trouble, antibiotics do not help against the infection. That is why it is important to prevent infection by getting vaccinated. Vaccination can protect you against tetanus. Since almost everyone in the Netherlands is vaccinated against tetanus, this disease has now become rare in this country. Read more about the vaccinations against tetanus below, or read how vaccination works.
Information about vaccinating against tetanus
If you are at risk for tetanus, whether you need treatment depends on your previous tetanus vaccinations and how long ago you had them. There are 3 possibilities:
- If you may have been exposed to tetanus and you did not have all your tetanus vaccinations as a child, you will be injected with antibodies against tetanus (tetanus immunoglobin). These protect you from the disease right away. You will also have to get a series of 3 tetanus vaccinations. These immediately ensure that you are well protected for the next 10 years.
- If you may have been exposed to tetanus and you did have all your tetanus vaccinations as a child, but it was longer than 10 years ago, you will only need a repeat vaccination (booster) against tetanus. You will not need to have an injection of antibodies. In that case, you will also be protected for about 10 years after that.
- If you may have been exposed to tetanus and your latest tetanus vaccination was less than 10 years ago, you will not need a new tetanus vaccination.
Before vaccination against tetanus was introduced in 1953, about 50 people in the Netherlands died of the disease every year. Since 1957, vaccination against tetanus has been included in the National Immunisation Programme. After that, the number of deaths dropped to almost 0.
These days, a child occasionally gets tetanus in the Netherlands. This often involves an unvaccinated child with a relatively minor wound. Children with large or high-risk wounds are often already given an extra tetanus vaccination in hospital.
16 tetanus patients were reported in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2020. Most of these were older people born before the start of the National Immunisation Programme. The last death due to tetanus was reported in 2011.