CURRENT STATUS OF TETANUS IN IRAN

Objective – To assess the status of tetanus during the last 20 years in Fars Province, Iran. Methods – Analysis of the hospital records of all tetanus patients who were admitted to the two university hospitals from 1978 through 1997. Results – There were 244 cases of tetanus, the youngest was a 2-day-old male infant and the oldest was an 80-year-old man. There were 176 males and 68 females, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.5:1. Neonates numbered 94, children 24, and the remaining 126 cases were adults. The latter group included 21 postpartum cases. Conclusion – The number of detected cases per 10 5 population residing in Fars Province was 1.8 in 1978, 0.31 in 1987 and 0.02 in 1997, revealing a sharp decline in incidence from the late 1970s to late 1990s. This is likely due to an advancement of the knowledge of the general population, availability of a larger number of medical care facilities, particularly for pregnant women, training of a larger number of rural midwives and general practitioners, and obligatory vaccination programs for preschool children, pregnant women, soldiers and the general public over the last several years.