Neonatal Tetanus in Nigeria: One Social Scourge too many!

Trends in neonatal and post-neonatal tetanus admissions at a Nigerian teaching hospital

“…Also, prospective studies of cases were conducted between January and December 2008. The diagnosis of tetanus was clinical in all cases based on case definition criteria from previous studies [7,9,10,11,12,13].…”

“…Nigeria alone accounts for 40% of this figure in spite of gross under reporting [1]. Thus it is not surprising that neonatal tetanus has been described as the scourge of Nigerian children [7]. Recent studies conducted in Nigeria in the early part of this millennium still show that tetanus has been able to transit across the millenniums retaining its significance as a cause of mortality in the neonatal age group [1,8].…”

Neonatal tetanus in Nigeria: does it still pose a major threat to neonatal survival?

“…1 3 4-8 At the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, a tertiary hospital located in the capital of Rivers State, one of the oil-producing states of Nigeria, 30-50 patients with neonatal tetanus (NNT) are admitted annually; most of them are full-term normal-sized babies. [9][10][11] This review highlights some of the reasons for the persistently high incidence of NNT in Nigeria and examines options for reduction within the context of Millennium Development Goal 4-that is, reduction in child mortality by two thirds from 1990 to 2015.…”

Renal function of post neonatal tetanus cases as seen in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

“…Diagnosis of tetanus was clinical in all cases based on case definition criteria from previous studies. Akani et al (2004), Oyelami et al (1996), Gbadegesin et al (1996), Anah et al (2008). Consent was obtained from parents/care givers and patients where possible.…”