Overview
Tetanus is a serious bacterial infection caused by Clostridium tetani that affects the nervous system, leading to painful muscle stiffness and spasms. Tetanus can occur following various injuries, including those related to pregnancy.Diagnosis
Management
Special Populations
Pregnancy
Infants born to mothers immunized with the tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine during pregnancy had significantly lower immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels against pertussis toxin, filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA), pertactin, and fimbria 2/3 (FIM2/3) after primary immunization compared to infants of unimmunized women 1. These lower levels persisted after booster immunization for FHA and FIM2/3 1. Infants of Tdap-immunized women also had lower seroprotection rates against diphtheria and some Streptococcus pneumoniae (SPN) serotypes after their immunization 1. Enhanced surveillance of pertussis, diphtheria, and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in infants is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings 1.Key Recommendations
References
1 Abu-Raya B, Maertens K, Munoz FM, Zimmermann P, Curtis N, Halperin SA et al.. The Effect of Tetanus-Diphtheria-Acellular-Pertussis Immunization During Pregnancy on Infant Antibody Responses: Individual-Participant Data Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in immunology 2021. link