By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Ukraine health officials reported an additional tetanus case on November 21 in a 59-year-old man from Volyn region. The tetanus case was due to an injury to his right forearm.

Public domain image/Wikimedia commons

The victim was hospitalized in the intensive care unit and diagnosed with tetanus. The patient had a severe condition: dizziness, tilted head, tense back and neck muscles, periodic generalized convulsions, progressive numbness of facial muscles (sardonic smile), trismus (spasm) of facial muscles. The man was last vaccinated against tetanus in 2006.

A total of 12 cases of tetanus were registered this year in Ukraine. Of these, 5 cases among children aged 10–14 years, 1–15–17 years, and 6 adults. This year, cases of tetanus were recorded in Volyn, Mykolaiv and Vinnytsia (2 each), Rivne, Lviv, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Poltava and Kharkiv (1 each) oblasts.

Tetanus is an infectious disease transmitted by contact with the spores of the bacterium Clostridium tetani. It is possible to become infected due to dirt getting into the wound, due to animal bites or injuries with sharp objects, wood fragments. This disease is not transmitted from person to person.

Without timely medical care, the disease can lead to death.

The only reliable way to protect against tetanus is vaccination.

In 10 months, only 64.8% of children under one year of age have been vaccinated against tetanus in Ukraine. Vaccination coverage in other age categories: 18 months – 66.4%, 6 years – 46.5%, 16 years – 63%, adults – 39.3%.

Vaccination for the prevention of tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis according to the Vaccination Calendar is carried out at 2 months (first vaccination), at 4 months (second vaccination), at 6 months (third vaccination), at 18 months (fourth vaccination). Revaccination occurs at 6 years and 16 years. From the age of 26, routine revaccination for adults is mandatory every ten years.

The tetanus and diphtheria vaccine is free. For best protection, vaccinations should be given in a timely manner.