ABSTRACT
Tetanus, an acute toxemic illness with a high fatality rate, results from Clostridium tetani infection at a break in the skin or a laceration. Because C. tetani organisms are disseminated worldwide in soils and animal feces, agricultural workers suffer a higher incidence of infection than others. Tetanus may also complicate burns, puerperal infections, infections of the umbilical stump (tetanus neonatorum), and certain surgical operations in which the source of infection may be contaminated sutures, dressings, or plaster.
