Thanks for posting.
I read through it and found it very interesting. It was quite bizarre when they recommended tatooing vaccinated people so that doctors can easily identify who has been vaccinated and how many times.
The general results seem to be that men are more at risk, older people are more at risk. The very young and the old are at risk of death. In 1969 they assume older people are more at risk as they have not been vaccinated. I do not have any links, but I am pretty sure I have read that in 2009 it is older people with diabetes and other circulatory proplems who are more at risk. Does it still hold that it is just their unvaccinated status that puts them at risk?
I did not fully understand the numbers when it came to who was vaccinated. It is said that 5 out or 102 were vaccinated and then that 40% (51) were not vaccinated. So I do not know what the other 46 status' are - maybe the study also did not know - ie only 56 of the 102 people vaccination status was known.
They also mentioned coding of deaths as a problem. Patients who had been diagnosed with tetanus were coded of dying from something else. Which raises the question as to whether tetanus is always the killer when people die after injuries. Maybe you can have tetanus after a serious injury and die of something else.
The equine antitoxin and TIG table was interesting - although it does seem today that TIG is the preferred treatment option.
The study does conclude with improved living conditions and hygiene contributed to a decline in tetanus - and of course vaccination.
So, while many different and pertinent aspects of tetanus infection are addressed in the study, I did not have a clear picture of the specifics of any one case. For me to make an informed decision I want to know the age, type of injury, location of the injury, environment where the injury happened, type of treatment, gender etc etc for each specific person so that I can see the whole picture. Breaking down all the aspects into tables that mix up the different factors does not help me decide what my personal risk is.
For instance, when abrasion is given as a wound that can cause tetanus, I want to know where the abrasion happened, what was the age and general health of the person who had the abrasion, as well as wound management.
Anyway, that is my take.
ETA: 34 of 102 died. Which is a high number, but nothing close to the numbers that I had thought it was before I started looking into the diseases and the vaccinations.
