The History of Tetanus

Tetanus is a horrendously ugly infection. I call this an infection because it is a bacteria, (Clostridium tetani), not a virus or disease. It is not contagious as viral conditions are, the only way to get tetanus or any other bacterial infection is through an unclean open wound. Tetanus spores lie in the ground and can remain dormant for up to 40 years, however small amounts of tetanus are not typically capable of producing the illness, (often referred to as lock jaw). The primary reason for it's name lock jaw is because one of the biotoxins that the bacterial infection produces strikes at the central nervous system causing muscle spasms that can strike anywhere, but one of the common areas is along the spine and in the neck and head area, and can include the vocal muscles making it extremely difficult to breathe. Muscle spasms can be so severe as to fracture bones including vertebrae. The closer the wound and incubation are to the central nervous system, the greater the risk of death from this insidious disease.

The history of tetanus dating back to the mid 1800's, the number of cases ran around 200 per 100,000 and dropped to about 0.4 per 100,000 by 1947. The greatest reason for the drop in numbers without widespread use of the vaccine was an understanding of what caused this disease and the development of wound hygiene. Since 1947, the number of cases continued to gradually decline, there was not an immediate or dramatic decline as one might expect from a viable and functional vaccine as many claim in Chicken pox and Small pox. The Tetanus bacteria although it can and does lie dormant in the ground, is primarily a host on animal feces and horse manure has been named as a primary host for tetanus. The greatest danger is for those who use manure as fertilizer in their gardening.

The real key to understanding the history of tetanus is, tetanus is a bacterial infection caused by an open wound. Like any other bacterial infection, you do not develop an immunity to it. If you get cut and it gets infected, the next time you get cut, if the wound is not properly cleaned you can still get an infection, there is no immunity to infections. The real key and probably the greatest causal drop in the number of cases in America is cleanliness. our water ways are treated, (which reduces Diphtheria), just about every home has rubbing alcohol or Hydrogen peroxide for cleaning wounds, our hospitals are much more sterile that those of the 1800's and early 1900's, and shoes are worn and horses are not the primary source of transportation which eliminates the primary source of tetanus which is manure.

Today in underdeveloped countries, Tetanus is still a problem, especially in Africa where many people do not wear shoes, many native tribes are cattlemen and own animals. Someone stepping on something sharp that cuts their foot is very likely to have the tetanus bacteria in the wound, and in these poorer countries most people do not have a bottle of rubbing alcohol in their medicine cabinet.

In the United States there are about 50 cases per year and of those there are about 5 deaths, while world wide the number of cases can reach nearly 1 million. The impact of the tetanus vaccine has not been dramatic in either case, where the numbers were already declining in developed countries, and the number of cases in the poorer under developed countries is still quite high. In America at least half the number of tetanus infections are in people who were fully vaccinated providing evidence of the apparent lack of effectiveness of the vaccine. People rely on the vaccine as a shield of protection can actually be detrimental by causing a relaxed attitude toward the cleaning of the wound.

Some of the potential reactions to the vaccine include vomiting, anorexia, convulsions, encephalopathy, Guillian-Barre syndrome, Erythmia, anaphylactic shock, and total paralysis of the arm.

Some doctors and researchers have come to the conclusion that the history of tetanus and the release of the vaccines shows that the vaccine is basically worthless, that the best defense against tetanus or any other infection is wound hygiene. The bacteria takes 3-5 days to incubate but a thorough disinfecting of the wound itself should in most, if not all cases, kill the bacteria and render it harmless. unless you have a puncture wound that goes completely through the foot, or a wound that cannot be cleaned into the recesses, good hygiene is probably more effective than the vaccine itself

Tetanus vaccines can include Aluminum, (a powerful Neurotoxin linked to Alzheimer's and Dementia and others), as well as many other toxic ingredients. It also contains bovine exposure which even in the most careful scenario does present the risk of vCJD, the human form of bovine spongiform encephalitis.

If you do decide to get your tetanus vaccines, ask your doctor for the insert and educate yourself on the ingredients and their potential toxic effects. In this day and age as more and more vaccines are released, the internal exposure to many toxic ingredients can cause a permanently damaging buildup of Neurotoxins, carcinogens, mutagens, teratogens, heavy metals, and other toxic conditions.

If any of your children have had vaccine reactions, please consider the implications of this in genetic predisposition to potentially harmful side effects. Consider any allergies that run in the family. Potential genetic predisposition to allergies combined with sensitizers and powerful toxins in vaccines can be a lifelong or even potentially fatal combination. Your doctor SHOULD be screening, but most do not. They do not ask the questions, it is your responsibility to yourself and your children to ask questions before accepting their recommendations. It is not only your right, but your responsibility.

Please educate yourself about vaccines, the history of tetanus, and understand the benefits as well as the risks, the benefits do not always out weigh the risks. We nearly lost one son to Leukemia which his Oncologist said was most likely related to his vaccines, and we did lose one son to Autism which has made him a permanent infant in an ever aging body, immediately after receiving a vaccine.

http://www.vaclib.org/links/tetanusindex.htm

http://www.pennhealth.com/ency/article/000615.htm

http://www.know-vaccines.org/faq.html

http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/Consumers/cmi/a/adt-booster.htm

Disclaimer: This article, The History of Tetanus, is not intended to give medical advice. It is a call to educate yourself so that in making a decision where your child is concerned, you should take an active role in learning all you can from medical experts on both sides of the fence, then make an educated decision. we did not make an informed decision until one son got Leukemia and another developed Autism immediately after receiving his MMR vaccine. This has sent us on a quest to inform ourselves and others to seriously question what kind of toxic soups are being injected with the vaccines. Odds are if your child is injured by a vaccine, you have little or no recompense against the industry.