Vaccination confers near-complete protection from tetanus, provided the individual has received their recommended booster shots. Globally, deaths from tetanus in newborns decreased from 787,000 in 1988 to 58,000 in 2010, and 34,000 deaths in 2015 (a 96% decrease from 1988). In the 1940s, before the vaccine, there were about 550 cases of tetanus per year in the United States, which has decreased to about 30 cases per year in the 2000s. Nearly all cases are among those who have never received a vaccine, or adults who have not stayed up to date on their 10-year booster shots.
For the every ten-year booster Td or Tdap may be used, though Tdap is more expensive.
Because DTaP and DT are administered to children less than a year old, the recommended location for injection is the anterolateral thigh muscle.[medical citation needed] However, these vaccines can be injected into the deltoid muscle if necessary.[medical citation needed]
Td and Tdap are for older children, adolescents, and adults and can be injected into the deltoid muscle. These are boosters and are recommended every ten years. It is safe to have shorter intervals between a single dose of Tdap and a dose of the Td booster.
Td and Tdap are the booster shots given every ten years to maintain immunity for adults nineteen years of age to sixty-five years of age.
Tdap is given as a one-time, first-time-only dose that includes the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccinations. This should not be administered to those who are under the age of eleven or over the age of sixty-five.[medical citation needed]
Td is the booster shot given to people over the age of seven and includes the tetanus and diphtheria toxoids. However, Td has less of the diphtheria toxoid, which is why the "d" is lowercase and the "T" is capitalized.
Common side effects of the tetanus vaccine include fever, redness, and swelling with soreness or tenderness around the injection site (one in five people have redness or swelling). Body aches and tiredness have been reported following Tdap. Td / Tdap can cause painful swelling of the entire arm in one of 500 people.
Tetanus toxoid containing vaccines (DTaP, DTP, Tdap, Td, DT) may cause brachial neuritis at a rate of one out of every 100,000 to 200,000 doses.
The first vaccine for passive immunology was discovered by a group of German scientists under the leadership of Emil von Behring in 1890.
The first inactive tetanus toxoid was discovered and produced in 1924. A more effective adsorbed version of the vaccine, created in 1938, was proven to be successful when it was used to prevent tetanus in the military during World War II. DTP/DTwP (which is the combined vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) was first used in 1948, and was continued until 1991, when it was replaced with an acellular form of the pertussis vaccine due to safety concerns. Half of those who received the DT(w)P vaccine had redness, swelling, and pain around the injection site, which convinced researchers to find a replacement vaccine.
Two new vaccines were launched in 1992. These combined tetanus and diphtheria with acellular pertussis (TDaP or DTaP), which could be given to adolescents and adults (as opposed to previously when the vaccine was only given to children).
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