Every
nine minutes a newborn dies of tetanus. Neonatal tetanus is an extremely
painful disease that causes the child to have extremely painful spasms. The
spasms may be heart-wrenching, but the worst part of the disease is that the
child has an extreme sensitivity to noise, light, and touch, making exposure
painful. This means that mothers cannot hold their child to comfort the baby
for fear of increasing the agonizing pain.
Maternal
and neonatal tetanus are forms of generalized tetanus. Generalized tetanus
results in autonomic over activity, leading to a slew of increasingly painful symptoms
that can lead to death. Even the babies that do not die are still subject to
severe and unnecessary pain. Maternal
neonatal tetanus reaches newborns (and in some cases, mothers) through the
umbilical cord or other wounds during birth. Unhygienic birthing practices have
the most effect. Clostridium tetani (the
bacterium that causes MNT) can be found anywhere in soil and dust. So when a
woman goes into childbirth on a dirt floor in a country with little medical
assistance, it’s more likely that she or the child could be exposed to tetanus.
Neonatal tetanus has a 10-60% mortality rate especially without proper medical
attention.
In 1988, 787,000 newborns per year
died of neonatal tetanus. This sparked outrage in health organizations
worldwide and began the ELIMINATE project which aims to eliminate (˂1 cases per
1000 live births) maternal/ neonatal tetanus worldwide. As of 2010, only 58,000
deaths due to maternal/ neonatal tetanus were reported, but UNICEF (United
Nations Children’s Fund) and Kiwanis International are intent on finishing the
job. They find it unacceptable that this tragedy is occurring in 24 third world
countries and, what’s worse, the disease is easily treatable with only three
shots. This series of shots costs only $1.80 and will vaccinate a mother and
her future children from being affected by maternal/ neonatal tetanus.
Kiwanis has enlisted all of the
younger volunteer branches also (which is where I first heard about this
project). Even with UNICEF and Kiwanis working together, they still require
funds for the actual outreach. Donating will allow volunteers and medical professionals
to vaccinate women of child-bearing age, educate local midwives, and provide
medical supplies in high risk areas. Since the goal has been set at 2015,
ELIMINATE needs as much help as it can get to be successful on time. With this
in mind, I’ve added a link below that you can donate towards the fund.
Sources:
http://www.unicefusa.org/mission/survival/immunization/tetanus
http://web.uconn.edu/mcbstaff/graf/Student%20presentations/C%20tetani/Ctetani.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3594855/
I heard about this project through my high school's Key Club, too (I'm guessing that's where you did). It's amazing that $2 can save two, or more, lives. That said, it's also troubling that basic healthcare like a series of tetanus shots is otherwise inaccessible to so many people, but that's a different discussion. In any case, I'm glad to see you promoting ELIMINATE!
ReplyDeleteWow. 787,000 is a ton of newborns. The success of ELIMINATE is absolutely phenomenal, but there is still work to be done. Hopefully we will see the day when neonatal tetanus is no longer widespread.
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely horrible illness. To imagine that an infant's first few moments in life are spent in agonizing pain is absolutely gut wrenching. I can barely see babies cry without wanting to help much less see an infant spasm in pain. The opening paragraph was an excellent opener and the subsequent paragraphs held my attention. This was a good post.
ReplyDelete