After Oregon went 30-plus years without a tetanus report, a six-year-old boy living in the state contracted severe tetanus in 2017, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The boy, who was not vaccinated, cut his forehead while playing outside on a farm. Less than a week after the incident, the boy had episodes of crying, jaw clenching and involuntary upper extremity muscle spasms. When he started having trouble breathing, he was transported to a tertiary pediatric medical center.
The CDC's report detailed the boy's symptoms and treatment for tetanus at the medical center. The boy suffered from jaw muscle spasms, arching of the neck and back, and autonomic instability.
Clinicians administered the tetanus immune globulin and diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine to the boy. He was also treated with multiple continuous intravenous medication infusions as well as with a neuromuscular blockade. He required prolonged ventilator support.
In all, the boy needed 57 days of inpatient care, of which 47 were in the intensive care unit. The cost of his hospital stay and treatments totaled $811,929. His parents declined the second dose of the DTaP vaccine and other recommended vaccinations.