NSW Health has urged people to get vaccinated for tetanus after three recent cases in NSW, including the state’s first death from the disease in three decades.
NSW director of communicable diseases Christine Selvey said older Australians in particular should ensure they were up to date with their tetanus jab.
“Tetanus is a rare, but potentially fatal disease. Vaccination is the best protection,” Dr Selvey said on Thursday.
The bacterial infection mostly occurs in older people, usually women, whose vaccination has lapsed.
A Sydney woman in her 80s died on April 1 from tetanus. It followed two other recent cases – another woman in her 80s from Sydney, and a woman in her 70s from northern NSW.
They are the first cases reported in NSW since 2019 and the death is the first since 1993.
“This serves as a reminder for all older Australians to check their tetanus vaccination status,” Dr Selvey said.
In all cases, tetanus was acquired from a minor leg wound that was contaminated by garden soil.
If the bacteria gets into wounds, it produces a toxin that attacks the nervous system. The disease does not spread person to person.
Adolescents and adults who have never had a tetanus shot should receive three doses. Booster doses should follow at 10 and 20 years after the primary course.
-AAP
