posts: 18383
Data license: CC-BY
This data as json
| id | title | slug | type | status | content | archieml | archieml_update_statistics | published_at | updated_at | gdocSuccessorId | authors | excerpt | created_at_in_wordpress | updated_at_in_wordpress | featured_image | formattingOptions | markdown | wpApiSnapshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18383 | Tetanus | tetanus | page | publish | <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tetanus is a bacterial infection that leads to painful muscle contractions, typically beginning in the jaw and then progressing to the rest of the body. In recent years, tetanus has been fatal 'in approximately 11% of reported cases'.{ref}Tetanus Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases – CDC Pink Book. Online here: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html">https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html</a>{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Globally 38,000 people died from tetanus in 2017. Around half (49%) were younger than five years old.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The vaccine against tetanus allowed massive progress in controlling the disease. The result — 89 percent reduction in tetanus cases and deaths since 1990.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tetanus is a disease caused by the toxin of a bacterium. There are two ways by which the disease can be contracted:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>Tetanus can be contracted from dirt that enters through wounds, and can ultimately cause paralysis and death.</li><li>When mothers or newborns contract tetanus through wounds during birth, this is called maternal/neonatal tetanus (MNT). It can be prevented by immunizing the mother who passes the immunity on to her newborn for a few days after birth.</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This entry presents a global overview on tetanus and MNT, presenting data on cases and deaths, and explaining transmission, prevention and the efforts to eliminate tetanus.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>The global burden of tetanus</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 27324 --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Since 1990, the number of deaths from tetanus has fallen by 88%</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the past three decades we have seen a significant fall in the number of deaths from tetanus globally. You can see this in the visualization. In 1990, 314,000 people died due to tetanus while in 2019 there were less than 35,000 deaths — that's an 87% reduction. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-from-tetanus?tab=chart&country=OWID_WRL"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Most cases of tetanus occur in children under-5</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The visualization also shows that the majority of tetanus cases in the past and today occur in children under the age of 5. However, if you switch the relative toggle on the bottom left of the chart, you’ll see that the proportion of cases in children has also fallen, from 76% in 1990 to just below half (49%) in 2017. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Notably, if you switch the country in the chart to any high-income region, e.g. Central Europe, you will see that tetanus in children is almost absent in those places. This is in large part due to a highly effective childhood <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/vaccination#diseases-preventable-through-vaccination">vaccine</a> that we have available for this disease. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-deaths-by-age-group" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Where do most cases of tetanus occur?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 27352 --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>New tetanus cases by region</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today the majority of new cases of tetanus occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. As the chart shows, these two regions account for 82% of all tetanus cases globally. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Similarly, 77% of all <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-deaths-by-region">deaths from tetanus</a>, 29,500 lives lost, occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, even though South Asia still sees more cases of tetanus than any other region, in just three decades the incidence rate in the region has fallen 14-fold, from close to half a million cases in 1990 to 33,000 in 2017. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/the-number-of-new-tetanus-infections-by-world-region" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>New tetanus cases by country</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The map here shows the rates of new tetanus infections by country. By clicking the play button you can see how this changed over time. In 1990, Nepal, Eritrea, Pakistan and Afghanistan had the highest rates of tetanus in the world; all above 70 cases per 100,000 people. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>By 2017, just two countries, South Sudan and Somalia, had the rates of tetanus cases greater than 10 per 100,000 people.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can see the change for individual countries by clicking on them or by selecting the "chart" tab at the bottom. In the bottom left corner of the "chart" tab different countries, as well as global data can be selected.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;" src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/new-infections-with-tetanus"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>In which countries do people still die from tetanus?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the chart you see death rates from tetanus by country. This is given as the number of tetanus deaths per 100,000 individuals, and is age-standardized to allow for comparisons between countries and over time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can view the total number of deaths by country <strong><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-from-tetanus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a></strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;" src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-death-rate"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>How do we prevent tetanus?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 27366 --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Vaccination protects against tetanus</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today we have an effective vaccine against tetanus. The vaccine is referred to as DTP and it contains ingredients that protect not only from tetanus but also from diphtheria and pertussis. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Decline of tetanus with vaccination coverage increase</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prior to 1980, the number of tetanus cases had already declined in developed countries with good hygiene and immunization programmes. Since then, the global number of cases of tetanus and global coverage of vaccination against tetanus were monitored and allow a comparison.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the coverage of tetanus vaccination increased, the number of tetanus cases declined. In the graph, tetanus cases are plotted against the number of people vaccinated.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two different data sets on the number of tetanus cases are available. Starting in 1980 the WHO reported the number of <em>confirmed</em> tetanus cases. However, it's estimated that less than 10 percent of all cases are reported and confirmed. The Global Burden of Disease project has estimated the <em>actual</em> number (not just the confirmed) of tetanus cases from 1990. Both data sets agree that tetanus cases decreased as more and more people were vaccinated against tetanus.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":22743,"align":"center","linkDestination":"custom"} --> <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1.png"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1-800x518.png" alt="" class="wp-image-22743"/></a></figure></div> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>DTP coverage today</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WHO recommends DTP vaccination of babies and subsequent follow-ups in childhood, teenage and adult years. In countries with good vaccination programmes tetanus has been largely eliminated.{ref}Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Tetanus. Available at: <em><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html">https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html</a>.</em>{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the graph you can see how global tetanus vaccine coverage increased rapidly from 38 percent to 77 percent between 1983 and 1990. Since then it has further increased to 86 percent in 2015. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;" src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-children-immunized-dtp3?tab=chart&country=OWID_WRL"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Tetanus treatment</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If a person gets infected with tetanus-causing bacteria, treatment involves antibiotics, antitoxin against the bacterial toxin, and spasm-controlling drugs. Tetanus survivors still need to be vaccinated as the infection does not result in immunity to the disease.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Maternal and neonatal tetanus is common where access to immunisation and clean delivery is insufficient</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tetanus that affects newborns and their mothers is referred to as Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT). The World Health Organisation has estimated that 787,000 newborns have died as a result of MNT in 1988. By 2015 this number has been reduced by 96% to 34,019 deaths.{ref} World Health Organization (2018) <em>Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE)</em>. Retrieved on 18 December 2018, from <a href="https://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en/">here</a>.{/ref} </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maternal and neonatal tetanus cases are linked to inequality in access to healthcare services. Because tetanus bacteria spores are present in the environment, clean birth delivery services are essential for protection of mothers and newborns during delivery. If environment in which birth is delivered is not hygenic, mothers can contract tetanus through tissue damage during delivery and newborns can get tetanus through umbilical stump . Vaccination of mothers and newborns protects from MNT and most cases of MNT occur in places where vaccine coverage is insufficient. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the map you can see how the distribution of neonatal tetanus cases changed across the world since 1980.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;" src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-new-neonatal-tetanus-cases-who-2017-per-1000000-people" width="300" height="150" data-mce-fragment="1"><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In 1988 the WHO declared the goal to eliminate neonatal tetanus by 1995.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The elimination standard was set to 1 case of MNT per 1000 live births. Due to slow progress, this goal was pushed back to 2000, then 2005 and eventually no specific goal was set. Instead the organizations Kiwanis and UNICEF partnered in 2010 to form the ELIMINATE project which aims to eliminate tetanus in the remaining 39 countries.{ref}World Health Organization. (2018). <em>Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE)</em>. Retrieved 27 November 2018, from <a href="http://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en//">http://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en//</a>.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The international service organization Kiwanis records the latest progress towards MNT elimination on <a href="http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/Progress/Maternal_and_neonatal_tetanus_elimination_updates.aspx">its project website</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In 2019 47 countries eliminated MNT and 12 countries still have rates of MNT above the set 1 in 1000 standard. These countries are shown on the map here. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/year-of-maternal-neonatal-tetanus-mnt-elimination" style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;"></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>What causes tetanus?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 27349 --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tetanus is caused by the toxin of a bacterium, <em>Clostridium tetani</em>, found in human and animal faeces, soil and street dust. The bacteria enter the body through wounds. Seven to 14 days after infection, a toxin is released from the bacteria and enters nerves responsible for movement and alters their activity. Specifically it prevents the release of the signaling substance GABA from nerve cells. Symptoms include, muscle stiffness, "lockjaws" (paralysis of the jaw), spasms, back pain and difficulties breathing. Tetanus is lethal in 13.2% of cases overall (including cases with and without treatment).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tetanus is one of the rare diseases that is infectious but not contagious or communicable. One can become infected with it, e.g. through dirt that enters wounds, but not transmit the disease to other people ("communicate" it).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even if the number of tetanus cases were reduced to zero at one point in the future tetanus would not be <a href="https://owid.cloud/eradication-of-diseases">eradicated</a>. As the disease-causing bacteria can be found in soil, unvaccinated people can become reinfected at any time. Continued vaccination efforts are therefore necessary to control tetanus. As a result tetanus is one of the very few infectious diseases that are not eradicable. For definitions of the words infectious, communicable, eradication and elimination, please see the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/tetanus#definitions">definition section</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Data Quality</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Differences in WHO and IHME figures</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When comparing the number of new cases per year (incidence) as reported by the WHO and the IHME we can see a significant difference. The comparison between these figures are shown in the chart.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This difference occurs because the WHO only reports <em>confirmed</em> cases; cases that are unreported in any given country and cases that are reported in a country that does not submit its data to the WHO, are not included in the dataset.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <iframe style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;" src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/who-vs-gbd-incidence-of-tetanus" width="300" height="150" data-mce-fragment="1"><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span></iframe> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The IHME provides estimates which not only include confirmed cases but also estimates of unreported cases. Its figures are therefore always higher than those reported by the WHO.<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Data Sources</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>World Health Organization (WHO)</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li><strong>Data: </strong>Data on tetanus cases, neonatal tetanus cases and DTP3 vaccination coverage</li> <li><strong>Geographical coverage: </strong>Global – by country and WHO region for cases, global for vaccination coverage</li> <li><strong>Time span: </strong>Available from 1980 onwards</li> <li><strong>Available at:</strong> Online <a href="http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A1362?lang=en">here</a>.</li> </ul> </li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease (GBD)</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li><strong>Data:</strong> Number of cases, deaths and death rates</li> <li><strong>Geographical coverage: </strong>Global, across all regions and countries</li> <li><strong>Time span: </strong>Available from 1990 onwards</li> <li><strong>Available at: </strong>Online <a href="http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool">here</a></li> </ul> </li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Kiwanis</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li><strong>Data:</strong> Tetanus elimination status of countries</li> <li><strong>Geographical coverage: </strong>Global, by country</li> <li><strong>Time span: </strong>2018</li> <li><strong>Available at: </strong>Online <a href="http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/Progress/ProgressDashboard.aspx">here</a></li> </ul> </li></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> | {
"id": "wp-18383",
"slug": "tetanus",
"content": {
"toc": [],
"body": [
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Tetanus is a bacterial infection that leads to painful muscle contractions, typically beginning in the jaw and then progressing to the rest of the body. In recent years, tetanus has been fatal 'in approximately 11% of reported cases'.{ref}Tetanus Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases \u2013 CDC Pink Book. Online here: ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html",
"children": [
{
"text": "https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": "{/ref}",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Globally 38,000 people died from tetanus in 2017. Around half (49%) were younger than five years old.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The vaccine against tetanus allowed massive progress in controlling the disease. The result \u2014 89 percent reduction in tetanus cases and deaths since 1990.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Tetanus is a disease caused by the toxin of a bacterium. There are two ways by which the disease can be contracted:",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "list",
"items": [
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Tetanus can be contracted from dirt that enters through wounds, and can ultimately cause paralysis and death.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "When mothers or newborns contract tetanus through wounds during birth, this is called maternal/neonatal tetanus (MNT). It can be prevented by immunizing the mother who passes the immunity on to her newborn for a few days after birth.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "This entry presents a global overview on tetanus and MNT, presenting data on cases and deaths, and explaining transmission, prevention and the efforts to eliminate tetanus.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"children": [
{
"url": "#all-charts",
"children": [
{
"text": "See all interactive charts on tetanus \u2193",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
}
],
"spanType": "span-bold"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "The global burden of tetanus",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 1,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Since 1990, the number of deaths from tetanus has fallen by 88%",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Over the past three decades we have seen a significant fall in the number of deaths from tetanus globally. You can see this in the visualization. In 1990, 314,000 people died due to tetanus while in 2019 there were less than 35,000 deaths \u2014 that's an 87% reduction.\u00a0",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-from-tetanus?tab=chart&country=OWID_WRL",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Most cases of tetanus occur in children under-5",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The visualization also shows that the majority of tetanus cases in the past and today occur in children under the age of 5. However, if you switch the relative toggle on the bottom left of the chart, you\u2019ll see that the proportion of cases in children has also fallen, from 76% in 1990 to just below half (49%) in 2017.\u00a0",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Notably, if you switch the country in the chart to any high-income region, e.g. Central Europe, you will see that tetanus in children is almost absent in those places. This is in large part due to a highly effective childhood ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/vaccination#diseases-preventable-through-vaccination",
"children": [
{
"text": "vaccine",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": " that we have available for this disease. ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-deaths-by-age-group",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Where do most cases of tetanus occur?",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 1,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "New tetanus cases by region",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Today the majority of new cases of tetanus occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. As the chart shows, these two regions account for 82% of all tetanus cases globally.\u00a0",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Similarly, 77% of all ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-deaths-by-region",
"children": [
{
"text": "deaths from tetanus",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ", 29,500 lives lost, occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "However, even though South Asia still sees more cases of tetanus than any other region, in just three decades the incidence rate in the region has fallen 14-fold, from close to half a million cases in 1990 to 33,000 in 2017.\u00a0",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/the-number-of-new-tetanus-infections-by-world-region",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "New tetanus cases by country",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The map here shows the rates of new tetanus infections by country. By clicking the play button you can see how this changed over time. In 1990, Nepal, Eritrea, Pakistan and Afghanistan had the highest rates of tetanus in the world; all above 70 cases per 100,000 people. ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "By 2017, just two countries, South Sudan and Somalia, had the rates of tetanus cases greater than 10 per 100,000 people.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "You can see the change for individual countries by clicking on them or by selecting the \"chart\" tab at the bottom. In the bottom left corner of the \"chart\" tab different countries, as well as global data can be selected.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/new-infections-with-tetanus",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "In which countries do people still die from tetanus?",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In the chart you see death rates from tetanus by country. This is given as the number of tetanus deaths per 100,000 individuals, and is age-standardized to allow for comparisons between countries and over time.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "You can view the total number of deaths by country ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-from-tetanus",
"children": [
{
"text": "here",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
}
],
"spanType": "span-bold"
},
{
"text": ".",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-death-rate",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "How do we prevent tetanus?",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 1,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Vaccination protects against tetanus",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Today we have an effective vaccine against tetanus. The vaccine is referred to as DTP and it contains ingredients that protect not only from tetanus but also from diphtheria and pertussis. ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Decline of tetanus with vaccination coverage increase",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Prior to 1980, the number of tetanus cases had already declined in developed countries with good hygiene and immunization programmes. Since then, the global number of cases of tetanus and global coverage of vaccination against tetanus were monitored and allow a comparison.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "As the coverage of tetanus vaccination increased, the number of tetanus cases declined. In the graph, tetanus cases are plotted against the number of people vaccinated.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Two different data sets on the number of tetanus cases are available. Starting in 1980 the WHO reported the number of ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "confirmed",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": " tetanus cases. However, it's estimated that less than 10 percent of all cases are reported and confirmed. The Global Burden of Disease project has estimated the ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "actual",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": " number (not just the confirmed) of tetanus cases from 1990. Both data sets agree that tetanus cases decreased as more and more people were vaccinated against tetanus.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"alt": "",
"size": "wide",
"type": "image",
"filename": "Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1.png",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "DTP coverage today",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "WHO recommends DTP vaccination of babies and subsequent follow-ups in childhood, teenage and adult years. In countries with good vaccination programmes tetanus has been largely eliminated.{ref}Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Tetanus. Available at:\u00a0",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"url": "https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html",
"children": [
{
"text": "https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ".",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": "{/ref}",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In the graph you can see how global tetanus vaccine coverage increased rapidly from 38 percent to 77 percent between 1983 and 1990. Since then it has further increased to 86 percent in 2015.\u00a0",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-children-immunized-dtp3?tab=chart&country=OWID_WRL",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Tetanus treatment",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "If a person gets infected with tetanus-causing bacteria, treatment involves antibiotics, antitoxin against the bacterial toxin, and spasm-controlling drugs. Tetanus survivors still need to be vaccinated as the infection does not result in immunity to the disease.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 1,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Maternal and neonatal tetanus is common where access to immunisation and clean delivery is insufficient",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Tetanus that affects newborns and their mothers is referred to as Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT).\u00a0The World Health Organisation has estimated that\u00a0787,000 newborns have died as a result of MNT in 1988. By 2015 this number has been reduced by 96% to 34,019 deaths.{ref} World Health Organization (2018) ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE)",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": ". Retrieved on 18 December 2018, from ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en/",
"children": [
{
"text": "here",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ".{/ref} ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Maternal and neonatal tetanus cases are linked to inequality in access to healthcare services. Because tetanus bacteria spores are present in the environment, clean birth delivery services are essential for protection of mothers and newborns during delivery. If environment in which birth is delivered is not hygenic, mothers can contract tetanus through tissue damage during delivery and newborns can get tetanus through umbilical stump . Vaccination of mothers and newborns protects from MNT and most cases of MNT occur in places where vaccine coverage is insufficient. ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In the map you can see how the distribution of neonatal tetanus cases changed across the world since 1980.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-new-neonatal-tetanus-cases-who-2017-per-1000000-people",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In 1988 the WHO declared the goal to eliminate neonatal tetanus by 1995.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The elimination standard was set to\u00a01 case of MNT per 1000 live births. Due to slow progress, this goal was pushed back to 2000, then 2005 and eventually no specific goal was set. Instead the organizations Kiwanis and UNICEF partnered in 2010 to form the ELIMINATE project which aims to eliminate tetanus in the remaining 39 countries.{ref}World Health Organization. (2018). ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE)",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": ". Retrieved 27 November 2018, from\u00a0",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "http://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en//",
"children": [
{
"text": "http://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en//",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ".{/ref}",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The international service organization Kiwanis records the latest progress towards MNT elimination on ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/Progress/Maternal_and_neonatal_tetanus_elimination_updates.aspx",
"children": [
{
"text": "its project website",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ".",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In 2019 47 countries eliminated MNT and 12 countries still have rates of MNT above the set 1 in 1000 standard. These countries are shown on the map here. ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/year-of-maternal-neonatal-tetanus-mnt-elimination",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "What causes tetanus?",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 1,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Tetanus is caused by the toxin of a bacterium, ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Clostridium tetani",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": ", found in human and animal faeces, soil and street dust. The bacteria enter the body through wounds. Seven to 14 days after infection, a toxin is released from the bacteria and enters nerves responsible for movement and alters their activity. Specifically it prevents the release of the signaling substance GABA from nerve cells. Symptoms include, muscle stiffness, \"lockjaws\" (paralysis of the jaw), spasms, back pain and difficulties breathing. Tetanus is lethal in 13.2% of cases overall (including cases with and without treatment).",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Tetanus is one of the rare diseases that is infectious but not contagious or communicable. One can become infected with it, e.g. through dirt that enters wounds, but not transmit the disease to other people (\"communicate\" it).",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Even if the number of tetanus cases were reduced to zero at one point in the future tetanus would not be ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://owid.cloud/eradication-of-diseases",
"children": [
{
"text": "eradicated",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ". As the disease-causing bacteria can be found in soil, unvaccinated people can become reinfected at any time. Continued vaccination efforts are therefore necessary to control tetanus. As a result tetanus is one of the very few infectious diseases that are not eradicable. For definitions of the words infectious, communicable, eradication and elimination, please see the ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/tetanus#definitions",
"children": [
{
"text": "definition section",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ".",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Data Quality",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 1,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Differences in WHO and IHME figures",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 3,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "When comparing the number of new cases per year (incidence) as reported by the WHO and the IHME we can see a significant difference. The comparison between these figures are shown in the chart.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "This difference occurs because the WHO only reports ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "confirmed",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": " cases; cases that are unreported in any given country and cases that are reported in a country that does not submit its data to the WHO, are not included in the dataset.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/who-vs-gbd-incidence-of-tetanus",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The IHME provides estimates which not only include confirmed cases but also estimates of unreported cases. Its figures are therefore always higher than those reported by the WHO.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"spanType": "span-newline"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Data Sources",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 1,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "horizontal-rule",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "World Health Organization (WHO)",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 3,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "list",
"items": [
{
"type": "text",
"value": [],
"parseErrors": []
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease (GBD)",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 3,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "list",
"items": [
{
"type": "text",
"value": [],
"parseErrors": []
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Kiwanis",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 3,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "list",
"items": [
{
"type": "text",
"value": [],
"parseErrors": []
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"top": [],
"type": "all-charts",
"heading": "Interactive charts on tetanus",
"parseErrors": []
}
],
"type": "linear-topic-page",
"title": "Tetanus",
"authors": [
"Hannah Behrens",
"Sophie Ochmann",
"Bernadeta Dadonaite",
"Max Roser"
],
"excerpt": "Tetanus is a bacterial infection that leads to painful muscle contractions and possibly death.",
"dateline": "March 25, 2019",
"subtitle": "Tetanus is a bacterial infection that leads to painful muscle contractions and possibly death.",
"sticky-nav": [],
"sidebar-toc": true,
"featured-image": "the-number-of-deaths-from-tetanus-by-world-region.png"
},
"createdAt": "2018-04-07T15:14:49.000Z",
"published": false,
"updatedAt": "2022-03-03T13:50:32.000Z",
"revisionId": null,
"publishedAt": "2019-03-25T12:00:49.000Z",
"relatedCharts": [
{
"slug": "new-neonatal-tetanus-cases-per-million",
"title": "Annual new cases of neonatal tetanus per million people",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "tetanus-deaths-by-age-group",
"title": "Deaths from tetanus, by age",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "new-infections-with-tetanus",
"title": "New tetanus infection rate",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "new-reported-cases-tetanus",
"title": "Number of confirmed cases of tetanus",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 0
},
{
"slug": "reported-tetanus-cases",
"title": "Number of confirmed neonatal tetanus cases",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 0
},
{
"slug": "number-of-deaths-from-tetanus",
"title": "Number of deaths from tetanus",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "tetanus-deaths-by-region",
"title": "Number of deaths from tetanus by region",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "number-of-new-tetanus-cases-in-children-under-5",
"title": "Number of new tetanus cases in children under-5",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 0
},
{
"slug": "the-number-of-new-tetanus-infections-by-world-region",
"title": "Number of new tetanus infections by world region",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "number-of-tetanus-deaths-in-children-under-5",
"title": "Number of tetanus deaths in children under 5",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 0
},
{
"slug": "the-percentage-of-neonates-protected-at-birth-against-neonatal-tetanus",
"title": "Share of neonates protected at birth against neonatal tetanus",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "tetanus-cases-vs-tetanus-vaccination-coverage",
"title": "Tetanus cases vs. tetanus vaccination coverage",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "tetanus-death-rate",
"title": "Tetanus death rate",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "tetanus-mortality-in-children-under-5",
"title": "Tetanus mortality in children under-5",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 0
},
{
"slug": "who-vs-gbd-incidence-of-tetanus",
"title": "WHO vs. IHME incidence of tetanus",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
},
{
"slug": "year-of-maternal-neonatal-tetanus-mnt-elimination",
"title": "Year of maternal neonatal tetanus elimination",
"variantName": null,
"keyChartLevel": 2
}
],
"publicationContext": "listed"
} |
{
"errors": [
{
"name": "unexpected wp component tag",
"details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list"
},
{
"name": "unexpected wp component tag",
"details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag image"
},
{
"name": "unexpected elements in list item",
"details": "Found 1 elements"
},
{
"name": "unexpected wp component tag",
"details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list"
},
{
"name": "unexpected elements in list item",
"details": "Found 1 elements"
},
{
"name": "unexpected wp component tag",
"details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list"
},
{
"name": "unexpected elements in list item",
"details": "Found 1 elements"
},
{
"name": "unexpected wp component tag",
"details": "Found unhandled wp:comment tag list"
}
],
"numBlocks": 88,
"numErrors": 8,
"wpTagCounts": {
"html": 9,
"list": 4,
"image": 1,
"heading": 22,
"paragraph": 36
},
"htmlTagCounts": {
"p": 36,
"h2": 7,
"h3": 11,
"h4": 4,
"ul": 7,
"div": 1,
"figure": 1,
"iframe": 9
}
} |
2019-03-25 12:00:49 | 2024-03-19 18:38:16 | [
"Hannah Behrens",
"Sophie Ochmann",
"Bernadeta Dadonaite"
] |
Tetanus is a bacterial infection that leads to painful muscle contractions and possibly death. | 2018-04-07 15:14:49 | 2022-03-03 13:50:32 | https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/the-number-of-deaths-from-tetanus-by-world-region.png | {} |
Tetanus is a bacterial infection that leads to painful muscle contractions, typically beginning in the jaw and then progressing to the rest of the body. In recent years, tetanus has been fatal 'in approximately 11% of reported cases'.{ref}Tetanus Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases – CDC Pink Book. Online here: [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html){/ref} Globally 38,000 people died from tetanus in 2017. Around half (49%) were younger than five years old. The vaccine against tetanus allowed massive progress in controlling the disease. The result — 89 percent reduction in tetanus cases and deaths since 1990. Tetanus is a disease caused by the toxin of a bacterium. There are two ways by which the disease can be contracted: * Tetanus can be contracted from dirt that enters through wounds, and can ultimately cause paralysis and death. * When mothers or newborns contract tetanus through wounds during birth, this is called maternal/neonatal tetanus (MNT). It can be prevented by immunizing the mother who passes the immunity on to her newborn for a few days after birth. This entry presents a global overview on tetanus and MNT, presenting data on cases and deaths, and explaining transmission, prevention and the efforts to eliminate tetanus. **[See all interactive charts on tetanus ↓](#all-charts)** --- # The global burden of tetanus --- ## Since 1990, the number of deaths from tetanus has fallen by 88% Over the past three decades we have seen a significant fall in the number of deaths from tetanus globally. You can see this in the visualization. In 1990, 314,000 people died due to tetanus while in 2019 there were less than 35,000 deaths — that's an 87% reduction. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-from-tetanus?tab=chart&country=OWID_WRL"/> ## Most cases of tetanus occur in children under-5 The visualization also shows that the majority of tetanus cases in the past and today occur in children under the age of 5. However, if you switch the relative toggle on the bottom left of the chart, you’ll see that the proportion of cases in children has also fallen, from 76% in 1990 to just below half (49%) in 2017. Notably, if you switch the country in the chart to any high-income region, e.g. Central Europe, you will see that tetanus in children is almost absent in those places. This is in large part due to a highly effective childhood [vaccine](https://ourworldindata.org/vaccination#diseases-preventable-through-vaccination) that we have available for this disease. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-deaths-by-age-group"/> --- # Where do most cases of tetanus occur? --- ## New tetanus cases by region Today the majority of new cases of tetanus occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. As the chart shows, these two regions account for 82% of all tetanus cases globally. Similarly, 77% of all [deaths from tetanus](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-deaths-by-region), 29,500 lives lost, occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, even though South Asia still sees more cases of tetanus than any other region, in just three decades the incidence rate in the region has fallen 14-fold, from close to half a million cases in 1990 to 33,000 in 2017. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/the-number-of-new-tetanus-infections-by-world-region"/> ## New tetanus cases by country The map here shows the rates of new tetanus infections by country. By clicking the play button you can see how this changed over time. In 1990, Nepal, Eritrea, Pakistan and Afghanistan had the highest rates of tetanus in the world; all above 70 cases per 100,000 people. By 2017, just two countries, South Sudan and Somalia, had the rates of tetanus cases greater than 10 per 100,000 people. You can see the change for individual countries by clicking on them or by selecting the "chart" tab at the bottom. In the bottom left corner of the "chart" tab different countries, as well as global data can be selected. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/new-infections-with-tetanus"/> ## In which countries do people still die from tetanus? In the chart you see death rates from tetanus by country. This is given as the number of tetanus deaths per 100,000 individuals, and is age-standardized to allow for comparisons between countries and over time. You can view the total number of deaths by country **[here](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-from-tetanus)**. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-death-rate"/> --- # How do we prevent tetanus? --- ## Vaccination protects against tetanus Today we have an effective vaccine against tetanus. The vaccine is referred to as DTP and it contains ingredients that protect not only from tetanus but also from diphtheria and pertussis. ## Decline of tetanus with vaccination coverage increase Prior to 1980, the number of tetanus cases had already declined in developed countries with good hygiene and immunization programmes. Since then, the global number of cases of tetanus and global coverage of vaccination against tetanus were monitored and allow a comparison. As the coverage of tetanus vaccination increased, the number of tetanus cases declined. In the graph, tetanus cases are plotted against the number of people vaccinated. Two different data sets on the number of tetanus cases are available. Starting in 1980 the WHO reported the number of _confirmed_ tetanus cases. However, it's estimated that less than 10 percent of all cases are reported and confirmed. The Global Burden of Disease project has estimated the _actual_ number (not just the confirmed) of tetanus cases from 1990. Both data sets agree that tetanus cases decreased as more and more people were vaccinated against tetanus. <Image filename="Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1.png" alt=""/> ## DTP coverage today WHO recommends DTP vaccination of babies and subsequent follow-ups in childhood, teenage and adult years. In countries with good vaccination programmes tetanus has been largely eliminated.{ref}Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Tetanus. Available at: _[https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html)._{/ref} In the graph you can see how global tetanus vaccine coverage increased rapidly from 38 percent to 77 percent between 1983 and 1990. Since then it has further increased to 86 percent in 2015. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-children-immunized-dtp3?tab=chart&country=OWID_WRL"/> ## Tetanus treatment If a person gets infected with tetanus-causing bacteria, treatment involves antibiotics, antitoxin against the bacterial toxin, and spasm-controlling drugs. Tetanus survivors still need to be vaccinated as the infection does not result in immunity to the disease. --- # Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus --- ## Maternal and neonatal tetanus is common where access to immunisation and clean delivery is insufficient Tetanus that affects newborns and their mothers is referred to as Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT). The World Health Organisation has estimated that 787,000 newborns have died as a result of MNT in 1988. By 2015 this number has been reduced by 96% to 34,019 deaths.{ref} World Health Organization (2018) _Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE)_. Retrieved on 18 December 2018, from [here](https://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en/).{/ref} Maternal and neonatal tetanus cases are linked to inequality in access to healthcare services. Because tetanus bacteria spores are present in the environment, clean birth delivery services are essential for protection of mothers and newborns during delivery. If environment in which birth is delivered is not hygenic, mothers can contract tetanus through tissue damage during delivery and newborns can get tetanus through umbilical stump . Vaccination of mothers and newborns protects from MNT and most cases of MNT occur in places where vaccine coverage is insufficient. In the map you can see how the distribution of neonatal tetanus cases changed across the world since 1980. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-new-neonatal-tetanus-cases-who-2017-per-1000000-people"/> ## Elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus In 1988 the WHO declared the goal to eliminate neonatal tetanus by 1995. The elimination standard was set to 1 case of MNT per 1000 live births. Due to slow progress, this goal was pushed back to 2000, then 2005 and eventually no specific goal was set. Instead the organizations Kiwanis and UNICEF partnered in 2010 to form the ELIMINATE project which aims to eliminate tetanus in the remaining 39 countries.{ref}World Health Organization. (2018). _Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE)_. Retrieved 27 November 2018, from [http://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en//](http://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en//).{/ref} The international service organization Kiwanis records the latest progress towards MNT elimination on [its project website](http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/Progress/Maternal_and_neonatal_tetanus_elimination_updates.aspx). In 2019 47 countries eliminated MNT and 12 countries still have rates of MNT above the set 1 in 1000 standard. These countries are shown on the map here. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/year-of-maternal-neonatal-tetanus-mnt-elimination"/> --- # What causes tetanus? --- Tetanus is caused by the toxin of a bacterium, _Clostridium tetani_, found in human and animal faeces, soil and street dust. The bacteria enter the body through wounds. Seven to 14 days after infection, a toxin is released from the bacteria and enters nerves responsible for movement and alters their activity. Specifically it prevents the release of the signaling substance GABA from nerve cells. Symptoms include, muscle stiffness, "lockjaws" (paralysis of the jaw), spasms, back pain and difficulties breathing. Tetanus is lethal in 13.2% of cases overall (including cases with and without treatment). Tetanus is one of the rare diseases that is infectious but not contagious or communicable. One can become infected with it, e.g. through dirt that enters wounds, but not transmit the disease to other people ("communicate" it). Even if the number of tetanus cases were reduced to zero at one point in the future tetanus would not be [eradicated](https://owid.cloud/eradication-of-diseases). As the disease-causing bacteria can be found in soil, unvaccinated people can become reinfected at any time. Continued vaccination efforts are therefore necessary to control tetanus. As a result tetanus is one of the very few infectious diseases that are not eradicable. For definitions of the words infectious, communicable, eradication and elimination, please see the [definition section](https://ourworldindata.org/tetanus#definitions). --- # Data Quality --- ### Differences in WHO and IHME figures When comparing the number of new cases per year (incidence) as reported by the WHO and the IHME we can see a significant difference. The comparison between these figures are shown in the chart. This difference occurs because the WHO only reports _confirmed_ cases; cases that are unreported in any given country and cases that are reported in a country that does not submit its data to the WHO, are not included in the dataset. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/who-vs-gbd-incidence-of-tetanus"/> The IHME provides estimates which not only include confirmed cases but also estimates of unreported cases. Its figures are therefore always higher than those reported by the WHO. --- # Data Sources --- ### World Health Organization (WHO) * ### Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease (GBD) * ### Kiwanis * <AllCharts heading="Interactive charts on tetanus"/> | {
"id": 18383,
"date": "2019-03-25T12:00:49",
"guid": {
"rendered": "https://owid.cloud/?page_id=18383"
},
"link": "https://owid.cloud/tetanus",
"meta": {
"owid_publication_context_meta_field": [],
"owid_key_performance_indicators_meta_field": {
"raw": "**35,000** people die from Tetanus every year. \n\nHalf are children under the age of five.",
"rendered": "<p><strong>35,000</strong> people die from Tetanus every year.</p>\n<p>Half are children under the age of five.</p>\n"
}
},
"slug": "tetanus",
"tags": [
164
],
"type": "page",
"title": {
"rendered": "Tetanus"
},
"_links": {
"self": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/pages/18383"
}
],
"about": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/types/page"
}
],
"author": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/users/26",
"embeddable": true
}
],
"curies": [
{
"href": "https://api.w.org/{rel}",
"name": "wp",
"templated": true
}
],
"replies": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/comments?post=18383",
"embeddable": true
}
],
"wp:term": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/categories?post=18383",
"taxonomy": "category",
"embeddable": true
},
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/tags?post=18383",
"taxonomy": "post_tag",
"embeddable": true
}
],
"collection": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/pages"
}
],
"wp:attachment": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/media?parent=18383"
}
],
"version-history": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/pages/18383/revisions",
"count": 65
}
],
"wp:featuredmedia": [
{
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/media/22675",
"embeddable": true
}
],
"predecessor-version": [
{
"id": 32180,
"href": "https://owid.cloud/wp-json/wp/v2/pages/18383/revisions/32180"
}
]
},
"author": 26,
"parent": 0,
"status": "publish",
"content": {
"rendered": "\n<p>Tetanus is a bacterial infection that leads to painful muscle contractions, typically beginning in the jaw and then progressing to the rest of the body. In recent years, tetanus has been fatal ‘in approximately 11% of reported cases’.{ref}Tetanus Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases \u2013 CDC Pink Book. Online here: <a href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html\">https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html</a>{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Globally 38,000 people died from tetanus in 2017. Around half (49%) were younger than five years old.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The vaccine against tetanus allowed massive progress in controlling the disease. The result \u2014 89 percent reduction in tetanus cases and deaths since 1990.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tetanus is a disease caused by the toxin of a bacterium. There are two ways by which the disease can be contracted:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Tetanus can be contracted from dirt that enters through wounds, and can ultimately cause paralysis and death.</li><li>When mothers or newborns contract tetanus through wounds during birth, this is called maternal/neonatal tetanus (MNT). It can be prevented by immunizing the mother who passes the immunity on to her newborn for a few days after birth.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This entry presents a global overview on tetanus and MNT, presenting data on cases and deaths, and explaining transmission, prevention and the efforts to eliminate tetanus.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>The global burden of tetanus</h2>\n\n\n\n<h3>Since 1990, the number of deaths from tetanus has fallen by 88%</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the past three decades we have seen a significant fall in the number of deaths from tetanus globally. You can see this in the visualization. In 1990, 314,000 people died due to tetanus while in 2019 there were less than 35,000 deaths \u2014 that’s an 87% reduction.\u00a0</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-from-tetanus?tab=chart&country=OWID_WRL\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h3>Most cases of tetanus occur in children under-5</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The visualization also shows that the majority of tetanus cases in the past and today occur in children under the age of 5. However, if you switch the relative toggle on the bottom left of the chart, you\u2019ll see that the proportion of cases in children has also fallen, from 76% in 1990 to just below half (49%) in 2017. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, if you switch the country in the chart to any high-income region, e.g. Central Europe, you will see that tetanus in children is almost absent in those places. This is in large part due to a highly effective childhood <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/vaccination#diseases-preventable-through-vaccination\">vaccine</a> that we have available for this disease. </p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-deaths-by-age-group\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2>Where do most cases of tetanus occur?</h2>\n\n\n\n<h3>New tetanus cases by region</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Today the majority of new cases of tetanus occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. As the chart shows, these two regions account for 82% of all tetanus cases globally. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, 77% of all <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-deaths-by-region\">deaths from tetanus</a>, 29,500 lives lost, occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, even though South Asia still sees more cases of tetanus than any other region, in just three decades the incidence rate in the region has fallen 14-fold, from close to half a million cases in 1990 to 33,000 in 2017. </p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/the-number-of-new-tetanus-infections-by-world-region\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h3>New tetanus cases by country</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The map here shows the rates of new tetanus infections by country. By clicking the play button you can see how this changed over time. In 1990, Nepal, Eritrea, Pakistan and Afghanistan had the highest rates of tetanus in the world; all above 70 cases per 100,000 people. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>By 2017, just two countries, South Sudan and Somalia, had the rates of tetanus cases greater than 10 per 100,000 people.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can see the change for individual countries by clicking on them or by selecting the “chart” tab at the bottom. In the bottom left corner of the “chart” tab different countries, as well as global data can be selected.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\" src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/new-infections-with-tetanus\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h3>In which countries do people still die from tetanus?</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the chart you see death rates from tetanus by country. This is given as the number of tetanus deaths per 100,000 individuals, and is age-standardized to allow for comparisons between countries and over time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can view the total number of deaths by country <strong><a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-from-tetanus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here</a></strong>.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\" src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/tetanus-death-rate\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2>How do we prevent tetanus?</h2>\n\n\n\n<h3>Vaccination protects against tetanus</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Today we have an effective vaccine against tetanus. The vaccine is referred to as DTP and it contains ingredients that protect not only from tetanus but also from diphtheria and pertussis. </p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Decline of tetanus with vaccination coverage increase</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to 1980, the number of tetanus cases had already declined in developed countries with good hygiene and immunization programmes. Since then, the global number of cases of tetanus and global coverage of vaccination against tetanus were monitored and allow a comparison.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the coverage of tetanus vaccination increased, the number of tetanus cases declined. In the graph, tetanus cases are plotted against the number of people vaccinated.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two different data sets on the number of tetanus cases are available. Starting in 1980 the WHO reported the number of <em>confirmed</em> tetanus cases. However, it’s estimated that less than 10 percent of all cases are reported and confirmed. The Global Burden of Disease project has estimated the <em>actual</em> number (not just the confirmed) of tetanus cases from 1990. Both data sets agree that tetanus cases decreased as more and more people were vaccinated against tetanus.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"518\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1-800x518.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22743\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1-800x518.png 800w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1-150x97.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1-400x259.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1-768x497.png 768w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2019/02/Tetanus-vaccination-vs-cases-v2-1.png 1285w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /></a></figure></div>\n\n\n\n<h3>DTP coverage today</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>WHO recommends DTP vaccination of babies and subsequent follow-ups in childhood, teenage and adult years. In countries with good vaccination programmes tetanus has been largely eliminated.{ref}Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Tetanus. Available at:\u00a0<em><a href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html\">https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html</a>.</em>{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the graph you can see how global tetanus vaccine coverage increased rapidly from 38 percent to 77 percent between 1983 and 1990. Since then it has further increased to 86 percent in 2015. </p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\" src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-children-immunized-dtp3?tab=chart&country=OWID_WRL\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h3>Tetanus treatment</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If a person gets infected with tetanus-causing bacteria, treatment involves antibiotics, antitoxin against the bacterial toxin, and spasm-controlling drugs. Tetanus survivors still need to be vaccinated as the infection does not result in immunity to the disease.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus</h2>\n\n\n\n<h3>Maternal and neonatal tetanus is common where access to immunisation and clean delivery is insufficient</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Tetanus that affects newborns and their mothers is referred to as Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT). The World Health Organisation has estimated that 787,000 newborns have died as a result of MNT in 1988. By 2015 this number has been reduced by 96% to 34,019 deaths.{ref} World Health Organization (2018) <em>Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE)</em>. Retrieved on 18 December 2018, from <a href=\"https://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en/\">here</a>.{/ref} </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maternal and neonatal tetanus cases are linked to inequality in access to healthcare services. Because tetanus bacteria spores are present in the environment, clean birth delivery services are essential for protection of mothers and newborns during delivery. If environment in which birth is delivered is not hygenic, mothers can contract tetanus through tissue damage during delivery and newborns can get tetanus through umbilical stump . Vaccination of mothers and newborns protects from MNT and most cases of MNT occur in places where vaccine coverage is insufficient. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the map you can see how the distribution of neonatal tetanus cases changed across the world since 1980.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\" src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-new-neonatal-tetanus-cases-who-2017-per-1000000-people\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff</span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff</span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff</span></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h3>Elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1988 the WHO declared the goal to eliminate neonatal tetanus by 1995.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The elimination standard was set to 1 case of MNT per 1000 live births. Due to slow progress, this goal was pushed back to 2000, then 2005 and eventually no specific goal was set. Instead the organizations Kiwanis and UNICEF partnered in 2010 to form the ELIMINATE project which aims to eliminate tetanus in the remaining 39 countries.{ref}World Health Organization. (2018). <em>Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE)</em>. Retrieved 27 November 2018, from <a href=\"http://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en//\">http://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/MNTE_initiative/en//</a>.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The international service organization Kiwanis records the latest progress towards MNT elimination on <a href=\"http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/Progress/Maternal_and_neonatal_tetanus_elimination_updates.aspx\">its project website</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019 47 countries eliminated MNT and 12 countries still have rates of MNT above the set 1 in 1000 standard. These countries are shown on the map here. </p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/year-of-maternal-neonatal-tetanus-mnt-elimination\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\"></iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2>What causes tetanus?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tetanus is caused by the toxin of a bacterium, <em>Clostridium tetani</em>, found in human and animal faeces, soil and street dust. The bacteria enter the body through wounds. Seven to 14 days after infection, a toxin is released from the bacteria and enters nerves responsible for movement and alters their activity. Specifically it prevents the release of the signaling substance GABA from nerve cells. Symptoms include, muscle stiffness, “lockjaws” (paralysis of the jaw), spasms, back pain and difficulties breathing. Tetanus is lethal in 13.2% of cases overall (including cases with and without treatment).</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tetanus is one of the rare diseases that is infectious but not contagious or communicable. One can become infected with it, e.g. through dirt that enters wounds, but not transmit the disease to other people (“communicate” it).</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if the number of tetanus cases were reduced to zero at one point in the future tetanus would not be <a href=\"https://owid.cloud/eradication-of-diseases\">eradicated</a>. As the disease-causing bacteria can be found in soil, unvaccinated people can become reinfected at any time. Continued vaccination efforts are therefore necessary to control tetanus. As a result tetanus is one of the very few infectious diseases that are not eradicable. For definitions of the words infectious, communicable, eradication and elimination, please see the <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/tetanus#definitions\">definition section</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Data Quality</h2>\n\n\n\n<h4>Differences in WHO and IHME figures</h4>\n\n\n\n<p>When comparing the number of new cases per year (incidence) as reported by the WHO and the IHME we can see a significant difference. The comparison between these figures are shown in the chart.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This difference occurs because the WHO only reports <em>confirmed</em> cases; cases that are unreported in any given country and cases that are reported in a country that does not submit its data to the WHO, are not included in the dataset.</p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px; border: 0px none;\" src=\"https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/who-vs-gbd-incidence-of-tetanus\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff</span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff</span></iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>The IHME provides estimates which not only include confirmed cases but also estimates of unreported cases. Its figures are therefore always higher than those reported by the WHO.<br></p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Data Sources</h2>\n\n\n\n<h4>World Health Organization (WHO)</h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Data: </strong>Data on tetanus cases, neonatal tetanus cases and DTP3 vaccination coverage</li>\n<li><strong>Geographical coverage: </strong>Global \u2013 by country and WHO region for cases, global for vaccination coverage</li>\n<li><strong>Time span: </strong>Available from 1980 onwards</li>\n<li><strong>Available at:</strong> Online <a href=\"http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A1362?lang=en\">here</a>.</li>\n</ul>\n</li></ul>\n\n\n\n\n<h4>Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease (GBD)</h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Data:</strong> Number of cases, deaths and death rates</li>\n<li><strong>Geographical coverage: </strong>Global, across all regions and countries</li>\n<li><strong>Time span: </strong>Available from 1990 onwards</li>\n<li><strong>Available at: </strong>Online <a href=\"http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool\">here</a></li>\n</ul>\n</li></ul>\n\n\n\n\n<h4>Kiwanis</h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Data:</strong> Tetanus elimination status of countries</li>\n<li><strong>Geographical coverage: </strong>Global, by country</li>\n<li><strong>Time span: </strong>2018</li>\n<li><strong>Available at: </strong>Online <a href=\"http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/Progress/ProgressDashboard.aspx\">here</a></li>\n</ul>\n</li></ul>\n",
"protected": false
},
"excerpt": {
"rendered": "Tetanus is a bacterial infection that leads to painful muscle contractions and possibly death.",
"protected": false
},
"date_gmt": "2019-03-25T12:00:49",
"modified": "2022-03-03T13:50:32",
"template": "",
"categories": [
44,
46,
171
],
"menu_order": 335,
"ping_status": "closed",
"authors_name": [
"Hannah Behrens",
"Sophie Ochmann",
"Bernadeta Dadonaite"
],
"modified_gmt": "2022-03-03T13:50:32",
"comment_status": "closed",
"featured_media": 22675,
"featured_media_paths": {
"thumbnail": "/app/uploads/2019/02/the-number-of-deaths-from-tetanus-by-world-region-150x106.png",
"medium_large": "/app/uploads/2019/02/the-number-of-deaths-from-tetanus-by-world-region-768x542.png"
}
} |
