Tetanus is a preventable disease and fortunately it is now rare. The reason it occurs so infrequently is because most of us have been immunised against it.
However, it remains an extremely severe disease and despite intensive modern treatment over a third of cases still die.
Tetanus is caused by a rod-like germ, Clostridium tetani, which grows best in low concentrations of oxygen.
This is why it is particularly likely to develop in damaged tissue, such as following a crushing injury or a burn.
The germ is widespread in nature.
It lives commonly in the gut of many animals especially the grass eating ones.
It does no harm to the animal but it passes out with the animal droppings and contaminates the soil.
The tetanus germ gains entry into our body usually when the skin is broken by a wound and is contaminated by soil.
The disease has an incubation period of around 15 days.
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