This week’s discussion focuses on tetanus, which is a bacterial infection resulting from the invasion of Clostridium tetani. The microbe is present everywhere in the environment, especially in dust, soil, and manure. Its spores are developed when the bacterium enters a host’s body through open wounds and, primarily produces tetanus toxin. This toxin invades the nervous system through the lower motor neurons, which also transmits it to the brain stem through the spinal cord (Kliegman, 2020). If the bacterium finds low oxygen content in the body, it terminates into a toxin called tetanospasmin, which produces convulsive muscle spasms or stiffness in the central nervous system. Although the disease is commonly associated with rusty objects, it can be contracted in wounds developed from projectiles such as bullets, arrows, and scratches from thorns.
The leading symptom of tetanus infection is a stiff jaw resulting from muscle spasms. Further, the disease causes irritability, restlessness, fever, difficulty swallowing, headache, stiffness in the neck, and sore throat. With time, tetanus toxins lead to muscle stiffness on the face, and therefore an individual can have raised eyebrows and a fixed smile. The disease interferes with breathing due to spasms in the ribs and the diaphragm muscles and rigidity in the abdominal and back muscles. In extreme cases, the patient becomes sensitive to noise and sweats profusely.
Tetanus is treated by eliminating Clostridium tetani, anaerobically replicating wound environments, palliation, controlling respiration and seizures, and providing intensive supportive care. Additionally, patients undergo surgical wound excision to remove any tissue that enhances the anaerobic growth of the bacterium. The procedure follows the administration of antibiotics and human tetanus immunoglobulin (Kliegman, 2020). A few months ago, a 45-year-old man succumbed to the disease after being admitted to hospice. Initially, the patient was homebound, under the care of his wife, due to a sacral wound that had reached stage 4. His condition, perhaps, worsened because he lived in an unsanitary environment and was severely malnourished. Two days after being transferred to a nursing facility for wound care, he developed respiratory distress and dysphagia, which led to his death.
Reference
Kliegman, M. R. (2020). Clostridium (tetanus). In Nelson’s textbook of pediatrics. Elsevier.