How to stay safe from tetanus
Q Many of your readers, I am sure, are also devotees of the show, Call the Midwife. A recent episode was particularly harrowing as it brought home the dangers of tetanus. This potentially fatal condition can arise from an infected scratch, a common occurrence for gardeners. I had no idea that disease spores are usually found in the soil. Can you tell me about this problem and how to guard against it?
Carol Casan, Devon
Though most gardens are home to this bacillus () discovered by a Japanese doctor in 1881, it occurs more frequently in fertile, manure-enriched soils. Also known as lockjaw because tissues stiffen around the wound, it also causes toxins to spread along nerve fibres to enter the spinal cord wherethey trigger muscular spasms. Later, these involuntary and very painful muscle movements extend to the neck and jaw and, if anything unexpected occurs, a door is banged or you are suddenly exposed to bright light, it can acutely exacerbate the pain. In extreme cases a patient may die from sheer exhaustion.
