The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2010 , Vol 52 , Num 4
Neonatal tetanus – report of a case
1Department of Epidemiology, University of Kragujevac Faculty of Medicine, and 2Clinic for Children’s Internal Diseases,
and 3Department of Epidemiology, University of Nish Faculty of Medicine, and Health Care Centers, 4Bujanovac and
5Presevo, and 6Institute of Public Health, Vranje, Serbia
Neonatal tetanus is a severe, often fatal disease caused by the toxin Clostridium
tetani. Neonatal tetanus is a generalized tetanus, which occurs in a neonate
between 3-28 days of life. The findings indicated that tetanus in a newborn
of an unvaccinated mother occurred after the application of non-sterile clay to
the umbilical cord. This case was a seven-day-old male baby with progressive
difficulty in feeding, trismus, hypertonicity, opisthotonos, and heart murmur.
The patient was afebrile and eupneic, and had a history of non-sterile home
delivery. In the past, the area of Bujanovac, Medvedja and Presevo had been
exposed to mass immigration (especially due to the war in the territory of
former Yugoslavia), which caused a serious problem for general practitioners,
who had to be vigilant and ensure that all patients registered in their practice
were fully immunized. This case has provided a clear indication of the
necessity for strategies of both vaccination and ensuring hygienic conditions
throughout pregnancy and delivery to prevent neonatal tetanus.
Keywords :
neonatal tetanus, infection, death, case report.