My mother, who is 90, pricked herself while sewing. not a disaster, but, as a result, the finger became infected…and we went to the doctor. He prescribed antibiotics and gave her a tetanus booster. According to a recent study, that may be unnecessary for people who’ve completed their initial vaccination series, but better safe than sorry. Tetanus is what the poor guy in the picture is suffering from; 20% of people who get tetanus die. Yeah. Give me the shot, please.
The Germ Makes a Toxin
Here comes the science. Tetanus is caused by one of the two toxins or poisons released by Clostridium tetani, an anaerobic (doesn’t breathe air) bacterium that lives in soil and animal intestines. The germ can form long-lived spores that can exist in dust, on rusty metal, and in ash for centuries.
Interestingly, if C. tetani were not to make its toxins, it wouldn’t be a problem. It wouldn’t even make you sick! But it does.
Also, if you recovered from an infection with tetanus, you wouldn’t be immune to it. Why not? Because the germ isn’t harmful; the stuff it makes is.
For this reason, the vaccine consists of toxin that has been inactivated, not killed bacteria. Toxoid. Hilariously, the Cleveland Clinic gets this wrong in the last sentence of the third paragraph. Don’t believe everything you read!
Another Bad Guy
Another bacterium that makes a toxin is Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Obviously, it causes diphtheria, and like tetanus, the disease is caused by the toxin that the bacterium makes. Also, like tetanus, you are vaccinated against it at a young age.
But here is a cool difference (at least for us science nerds). This bacterium is only harmful because it’s infected with a virus. The virus tells it how to make toxin. If a C. diphtheriae that wasn’t infected were to infect you, you wouldn’t even get sick! But, because it’s a sick puppy, if you weren’t vaccinated, it could kill you.
Now, that’s some good stuff to discuss at your next work meeting. You’re welcome!