Tetanus in the United States (1965–1966)

Abstract

The case-fatality ratio of 507 cases of tetanus occurring in the United States in 1965 and 1966 was 68 per cent, but it was greater than 75 per cent at the extremes of age. The incidence was highest in the lower Mississippi Valley and the Southeast. Fifty-four patients were neonates, and the median age of the remainder was 48 years. Incidence and mortality rates were more than five times higher for nonwhites than for whites. Case-fatality ratios for patients with convulsions were significantly greater than those for patients without convulsions. The incubation period was considered to be a useful prognostic sign only in patients under 50 years of age. In 97 per cent of cases, a history of immunization was not obtained. Injuries incurred at home led the list of predisposing conditions.