Tetanus booster needed

Press, 6 November 1984, Page 2

Tetanus booster needed

Many older people may be at risk from tetanus if they have not kept their booster immunisations up to date, according to the Health Department. The department’s head of disease prevention, Dr John Clements, said he was particularly concerned that men and women involved in contact sports might not be immunised. “Knowing your tetanus immunisation is up to date should be as important to sports people as having the right equipment,” he said. A Timaru man was now being treated for tetanus after grazing his leg during a soccer match in Dunedin, he said. “The disease is transmit-

ted by soil-born spores which can enter the body through any cut or abrasion which comes into contact with soil. The spores are everywhere and anyone who plays sport or who gardens is at risk,” he said. The Deputy Medical Officer of Health in Christchurch, Dr M. A. Brieseman, said yesterday that for many years, the only cases of tetanus recorded had been in people of middle age onwards. “There have been no cases in young people in New Zealand for many years,” he said. This was because of the department’s immunisation programme which includes anti-tetanus shots at six weeks, three months, five

months, 18 months, and 15 years. 11 . Dr Brieseman said, however, that many teen-agers could miss their booster at the age of 15. “Mothers are usually in a rush to get their very young children immunised, but it is often forgotten once the children reach their, teens,” he said. Dr Clements said boosters were needed every 20 years. Most cases of tetanus in New Zealand occurred in people who had never been Immunised because the injection was not available when they were children. “Those people, especially farmers and gardeners, should also see their doctor if they are not sure if they are protected,” he said.