Science 8: Global Health Story
Introduction
Tetanus is a serious bacterial disease that affects your nervous system and is characteristic of prolonged uncontrollable contractions of skeletal muscles. The individual infected by this disease has no control over their muscle contractions and it results in a very painful experience.
Symptoms generally begin with minor spasms located in the neck and jaw, resulting in something called lockjaw, which is the inability to relax your jaw muscles. The spasms can also affect the chest, back, abdominal muscles and calf region. Sometimes these spasms can affect the muscles involved in the respiratory system resulting in breathing difficulties. Other symptoms include elevated temperature, headaches, painful stiffness, sweating, high blood pressure and episodic rapid heart rate, which is the random increase of heart rate for a short period of time. In severe cases of tetanus profuse sweating, fever and various heart and lung complications can result in death within four days of contracting the infection.
Tetanus is caused by an infection from the bacterium Clostridium tetani. It is different from most bacterial infections because it is not spread through human-to-human contact rather it is contracted through rust, especially in the case of rusty nails. The rust itself does not cause tetanus rather it provides a good habitat for the C. tetani bacteria to live. Tetanus bacteria are also present in various soli types, dust and manure. Infection from Tetanus is most commonly done through a cut or puncture into the skin by rusty metal, resulting in the exposure and infection by the bacteria.
Statistics
Tetanus was estimated to have caused over 88,000 deaths in 2008 based on a summary done by the World Health Organization. What is interesting is that a large majority of those deaths occurred in the region of South Asia, whereas very few deaths occurred in developed countries. According to the same summary done by the World Health Organization the estimated number of deaths from tetanus in developed countries was 76 cases in comparison to 44, 120 cases in South Asia. I think that the greater number of deaths occurring in South Asia is likely because there is better access to tetanus vaccinations in Developed Countries that could help prevent deaths caused by tetanus.
Possible Explanations
After researching the differences in availability for Tetanus vaccinations in both countries I found that differences in access to these services and vaccinations was a major factor in predicting incidence of death. In a report given by UNICEF, they attributed the higher death rates in places in South Asia because of inadequate immunization services and limited or absent medical services. Furthermore they stated that in areas of severe poverty people have very little access to health care and lack access to information on general health. This was further supported in a review paper done by Peter Rhee, who stated that the main reason tetanus remains a major problem in areas of increased poverty like Southern Asia is the lack of primary immunization programs. Hopefully in the future we can rid our world of this terrible disease through better access to immunizations and health care worldwide.
Tetanus is a serious bacterial disease that affects your nervous system and is characteristic of prolonged uncontrollable contractions of skeletal muscles. The individual infected by this disease has no control over their muscle contractions and it results in a very painful experience.
Symptoms generally begin with minor spasms located in the neck and jaw, resulting in something called lockjaw, which is the inability to relax your jaw muscles. The spasms can also affect the chest, back, abdominal muscles and calf region. Sometimes these spasms can affect the muscles involved in the respiratory system resulting in breathing difficulties. Other symptoms include elevated temperature, headaches, painful stiffness, sweating, high blood pressure and episodic rapid heart rate, which is the random increase of heart rate for a short period of time. In severe cases of tetanus profuse sweating, fever and various heart and lung complications can result in death within four days of contracting the infection.
Tetanus is caused by an infection from the bacterium Clostridium tetani. It is different from most bacterial infections because it is not spread through human-to-human contact rather it is contracted through rust, especially in the case of rusty nails. The rust itself does not cause tetanus rather it provides a good habitat for the C. tetani bacteria to live. Tetanus bacteria are also present in various soli types, dust and manure. Infection from Tetanus is most commonly done through a cut or puncture into the skin by rusty metal, resulting in the exposure and infection by the bacteria.
Statistics
Tetanus was estimated to have caused over 88,000 deaths in 2008 based on a summary done by the World Health Organization. What is interesting is that a large majority of those deaths occurred in the region of South Asia, whereas very few deaths occurred in developed countries. According to the same summary done by the World Health Organization the estimated number of deaths from tetanus in developed countries was 76 cases in comparison to 44, 120 cases in South Asia. I think that the greater number of deaths occurring in South Asia is likely because there is better access to tetanus vaccinations in Developed Countries that could help prevent deaths caused by tetanus.
Possible Explanations
After researching the differences in availability for Tetanus vaccinations in both countries I found that differences in access to these services and vaccinations was a major factor in predicting incidence of death. In a report given by UNICEF, they attributed the higher death rates in places in South Asia because of inadequate immunization services and limited or absent medical services. Furthermore they stated that in areas of severe poverty people have very little access to health care and lack access to information on general health. This was further supported in a review paper done by Peter Rhee, who stated that the main reason tetanus remains a major problem in areas of increased poverty like Southern Asia is the lack of primary immunization programs. Hopefully in the future we can rid our world of this terrible disease through better access to immunizations and health care worldwide.
