Tetanus is a potentially fatal disease: it acts very quickly and often kills before the body’s natural primary response can take place. There are about 1million cases of tetanus a year with between 300,000-500,000deaths. It is a global problem because tetanus spores, which cause the infection, are everywhere. However, due to vaccination programmes, tetanus is rare in the UK with only about 10 cases a year; the main problems are encountered in developing countries where vaccines may be too expensive and equipment may not be properly sterilised.

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