Tetanus News and Research

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Tetanus is a severe, frequently fatal disease caused by an exotoxin produced by Clostridium tetani, a bacterium that is found in the environment. Tetanus is not transmitted from person to person. Rather, Clostridium tetani enters the body through an open wound, including lacerations, abrasions and puncture wounds. The toxin causes neuromuscular dysfunction, with rigidity and spasms of skeletal muscles. The muscle spasms usually start in the jaw (which is why the disease is sometimes called "lockjaw") and neck and may spread to many other muscles, leading to generalized paralysis.

Kids with mild or moderate adverse events following immunization can be safely reimmunized

Children who experience some type of adverse event following initial immunization have a low rate of recurrent reactions to subsequent vaccinations, reports a study in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, the official journal of The European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases.

14 Sep 2018

Researchers report challenges in reducing tetanus mortality

The overall mortality in patients suffering non-neonatal tetanus is high. Efforts to reduce mortality in one sub-Saharan African intensive care unit by implementing a standard tetanus protocol did little to change mortality rates, although they shifted causes of deaths, researchers have now reported in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

31 Aug 2018

New method of cervical cancer screening eliminates Pap test

The United States Preventive Services Task Force has released new recommendations on screening for cervical cancer.

22 Aug 2018

HPV and other adolescent vaccines do not negatively impact fertility in young women

Adolescents who receive recommended vaccinations, including for human papillomavirus, have no increased risk of primary ovarian insufficiency, also known as premature menopause, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in Pediatrics.

21 Aug 2018

Prenatal Tdap vaccination not linked with increased risk of autism in children, study shows

A Kaiser Permanente study of more than 80,000 children born over a 4-year period showed that the prenatal Tdap vaccination (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) was not associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder in children.

13 Aug 2018

Vaccine schedule is a must-have on child’s back-to-school checklist

With the start of the school year just around the corner, it is easy to overlook one of the most important things on any back-to-school checklist -; making sure your child is vaccinated. Vaccinations protect children from serious diseases, ultimately protecting families, schools and communities by way of safe and effective immunizations.

1 Aug 2018

Research provides new insights about when booster meningitis vaccines are needed

Scientists are indicating that children in Burkina Faso who were vaccinated against group A meningococcal meningitis and septicemia between the ages of 1-4 years in 2010, could need a booster dose of the vaccine as early as this year to ensure they remain protected.

27 Jul 2018

Outrage over China vaccines scandal

One of the largest vaccine manufacturers in China, Changchun Changsheng Bio-technology Ltd. was found to have falsified reports in connection with production and inspection of around 113,000 rabies vaccines.

23 Jul 2018

Simple tips to treat minor cuts

Cuts from a sharp knife or a piece of glass are very common. They often occur while people are preparing food, washing dishes or even crafting. All it takes is a slip of the knife or a dish breaking, and suddenly there's blood.

10 Jul 2018

WVU researcher aims to produce updated whooping cough vaccine

Before the whooping-cough vaccine came into widespread use in the 1940s, about 9,000 American children died from the infection each year. Today, thanks to the vaccine's efficacy, reported cases of whooping cough have dramatically declined and fatalities have dropped to up to 20 children each year.

18 Jun 2018

Study shows effectiveness of prenatal Tdap vaccine in preventing infant pertussis

A study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows the effectiveness of the Tdap vaccine for infants whose mothers receive the vaccine during pregnancy.

14 Jun 2018

California hospital giant Sutter Health faces heavy backlash on prices

Cooking dinner one night in March, Mark Frizzell sliced his pinkie finger while peeling a butternut squash and couldn't stop the bleeding.

16 May 2018

Meningitis in Newborns: What to Look Out For

Claire is Evidence & Policy Manager at the UK and international charity Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF). She discusses the signs and symptoms of meningitis in newborns, and the aims for the recent diagnostic eTool developed by the MRF.

24 Apr 2018

Adults skipping vaccines may miss out on effective new shingles shot

Federal officials have recommended a new vaccine that is more effective than an earlier version at protecting older adults against the painful rash called shingles. But persuading many adults to get this and other recommended vaccines continues to be an uphill battle, physicians and vaccine experts say.

20 Mar 2018

Measles vaccination provides child survival benefits beyond protecting against infection

In the largest study to date on children in a low/ middle-income country, new research in Ghana finds that the timing of a measles vaccine in an overall vaccination schedule can have a profound impact on child survival rates beyond protecting against measles infection.

12 Feb 2018

Reminders can improve immunization rates

Rates of immunization against infectious diseases in children and adults are improving, but under-vaccination remains a problem that results in vaccine-preventable deaths and illnesses. In Europe, 11,316 cases of measles were reported during 2012, and an estimated four to 50 million symptomatic cases of flu occur each year.

19 Jan 2018

HPV vaccine shows long-term safety and efficacy in protecting against most virulent strains

A decade of data on hundreds of boys and girls who received the HPV vaccine indicates the vaccine is safe and effective long term in protecting against the most virulent strains of the virus, researchers report.

29 Nov 2017

Teen tattoos - an issue raising concern

According to a clinical report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, “voluntary body modifications” or tattoos, scarifications and piercings by teenagers is a rising concern. These can lead to serious complications they warn and also discuss the implications of these modifications both in terms of social as well as personal and related to mental health.

19 Sep 2017

Meningitis B vaccine’s high price tag poses a health care conundrum

Four years ago, when meningitis B, an extremely rare but potentially lethal form of the infection, sickened a small number of college students at Princeton and the University of California-Santa Barbara, there was no vaccine against the disease sold in the U.S. Despite its availability abroad, it had never been licensed in the country due to its limited marketability.

8 Sep 2017

Children need to be up-to-date on immunizations before heading back-to-school

While we prepare our children to go back to school, parents should check and make sure their children are current on all vaccinations before the start of the school year or they may not be able to start on the first day.

17 Aug 2017