Tetanus (Tetanus, Lockjaw)

Tetanus is an acute infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Clostridium tetani species and affects the nervous system. The disease develops as a result of spores of these bacteria entering an open wound. Bacteria begin to multiply intensively at the site of infection, producing a specific toxin that causes irritation of the nerves, leading to spastic muscle contractions.

Symptoms of the disease may appear 4-25 days after infection; these include: severe stiffness and spasticity of the muscles with their subsequent rigidity (the chewing muscles and neck muscles are affected first, and then the muscles of the back, chest, abdomen and limbs); in severe cases of the disease, spasm can develop in all skeletal muscles, causing opisthotonos.

Typically, the patient has a high fever, severe cramps and pain throughout the body. If the respiratory muscles are affected, then in order to avoid death from asphyxia, there is a need for tracheostomy or intubation and artificial ventilation.

Without proper treatment, the mortality rate from this disease is very high; Timely administration of penicillin and antitoxin is highly effective. After an illness, a person usually does not develop immunity. Tetanus vaccination is an effective way to prevent tetanus, but it only works for a certain period of time.

Tetanus is an acute, infectious, bacterial disease that is caused by bacteria called Clostidium tetani. It affects the nervous system and complications often occur, so treatment of tetanus requires the administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics and some other medications. The first symptom of the disease is fever, followed by severe muscle spasms a few days later.

Toxins of the pathogen block interneuron synapses (a synapse is the point of contact of two neurons located on glia), which leads to inhibition of the production of neurotransmitters in the central nervous system, ensuring the conduction of excitation both along neuronal chains and in the opposite direction - into the medulla oblongata to the structures of the reticular formation ( RF) with activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. An increase in the level of ACTH in the blood was observed in patients with impaired consciousness during severe sepsis (fever, hypotension, shock).