2023-08-03 10:07:51
A 13-year-old is being treated in the intensive care unit at the Kepler Uni Klinik (KUK) in Linz for a life-threatening tetanus infection (lockjaw). Such an infection occurs only very rarely, sufficient vaccination protection might have prevented this, the KUK announced on Thursday. Tetanus is a disease with massive, involuntary and painful muscle spasms, it is therefore also called “lockjaw”.
The trigger is the poison of a bacterium that penetrates the body through wounds, “even if they are only the smallest minor injuries,” says the KUK broadcast. It migrates along the nerve tracts in the brain and spinal cord. This leads to muscle stiffness , especially in the area of the neck and chewing muscles.
The KUK took the acute case of illness as an opportunity to call on parents to check their children’s vaccination protection and have it refreshed if necessary. The tetanus vaccination is included in the free vaccination program and is vaccinated as part of the six-fold vaccination in the third, fifth and eleventh to twelfth month of life. At school age (seventh to ninth year of life) the combination vaccination diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and polio (child paralysis) is repeated. After that, a refresher course is necessary every ten years up to the age of 60.
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