Is Tetanus Bacteria Anaerobic?

[TonyaW]

Is the tetanus bacterium anaerobic or is it just that tetanus needs and anaerobic environment to produce the spores?

Can you share your resources?

Thanks!

[AFWife]

I want to say the Tenpenny vid said it was anaerobic...so hydrogen peroxide would kill it...

[rrs]

The Clostridium tetani species is an obligate anaerobe. The anaerobic microenvironments created by other organisms allow them to live in soil. The vegetative cells create endospores in anaerobic conditions. The endospores are indifferent to the presence of O2, but will only germinate in an anaerobic condition.

My source is my undergraduate education; I have a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by AFWife

I want to say the Tenpenny vid said it was anaerobic...so hydrogen peroxide would kill it...

Kill what? Hydrogen peroxide is not sporicidal for C. tetani.

[TonyaW]

Thanks for that info. I Am I reading and understanding correctly that the actual bacteria is anaerobic as well as spores?

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by Otto

Kill what? Hydrogen peroxide is not sporicidal for C. tetani.

Maybe I understood wrong...but I thought that hydrogen peroxide providing oxygen to the area would kill or at least halt tetanus infection.

[rrs]

The bacteria (in its vegetative, growing, living state) are anaerobic. The endospores are indifferent. They withstand heat, desiccation, chemicals, and oxygen that the vegetative cells would not survive. They will only germinate in favorable (i.e. anaerobic) conditions.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by rrs

The bacteria (in its vegetative, growing, living state) are anaerobic. The endospores are indifferent. They withstand heat, desiccation, chemicals, and oxygen that the vegetative cells would not survive. They will only germinate in favorable (i.e. anaerobic) conditions.

Which is why proper debridement is essential for tetanus-prone wounds.

[ETA.--I think vegetative C. tetani is actually mildly oxygen-tolerant.]

[TonyaW]

Originally Posted by rrs

The bacteria (in its vegetative, growing, living state) are anaerobic. The endospores are indifferent. They withstand heat, desiccation, chemicals, and oxygen that the vegetative cells would not survive. They will only germinate in favorable (i.e. anaerobic) conditions.

So does this mean that the C. Tetani bacteria which are in aerobic conditions can become active in anaerobic conditions? I don't have a degree in science, so I am not exactly sure how to word what I am thinking? So C Tetani can be sitting on my cutting knife and if I accidentally stabbed myself, then I would get the bacteria inside and if they found an anaerobic niche then they would create the toxin? Or, would my cutting knife have to be sitting in soil or feces or some other anaerobic environment, and then I stepped on it, would it then be able to create the toxin? Sorry if this isn't coming out right, but I am trying to understand how this darn thing works.

[rrs]

Originally Posted by Otto

Which is why proper debridement is essential for tetanus-prone wounds.

I certainly wasn't arguing that. I was merely responding to TonyaW's request for further clarification.

Originally Posted by Otto

[ETA.--I think vegetative C. tetani is actually mildly oxygen-tolerant.]

I've double-checked in a couple of my microbiology texts, which state that C. tetani is, in fact, an obligate anaerobe. I also did a quick PubMed search, which indicates that the organism is an obligate anaerobe and is NOT aerotolerant.

I did find a really nice article in the Archives of Microbiology that indicates that wound-colonizing C. tetani is able to withstand (micro)oxic conditions, temporarily. Namely, it indicates superoxide dismutases, peroxidases, and heme oxygenases as present and protective. It states that other clostridial species survive in a growth arrested state in oxic conditions, and projects that this is true for C. tetani, as well. Thus, for all intents and purposes, C. tetani is an obligate anaerobe, that is mildly aerotolerant when wound-colonizing.

[TonyaW]

Wow, totally above my head. I appreciate the info. Can you clarify in lay terms?

[rrs]

Originally Posted by TonyaW

So does this mean that the C. Tetani bacteria which are in aerobic conditions can become active in anaerobic conditions? I don't have a degree in science, so I am not exactly sure how to word what I am thinking? So C Tetani can be sitting on my cutting knife and if I accidentally stabbed myself, then I would get the bacteria inside and if they found an anaerobic niche then they would create the toxin? Or, would my cutting knife have to be sitting in soil or feces or some other anaerobic environment, and then I stepped on it, would it then be able to create the toxin? Sorry if this isn't coming out right, but I am trying to understand how this darn thing works.

I understand what you are asking, I didn't intend for my response to be esoteric. Hopefully I can answer this better. Your questions are great, my responses need work.

C. tetani is endospore forming. Thus, when the bacteria encounters stress (an aerobic environment, for example) it will form spores. The living cells will die, and the spores will stick around. Once the spores are in a more favorable (anaerobic) environment (like a wound), they will germinate (become living cells).

Thus, because of the endospores, C. tetani can colonize a wound in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

[carriebft]

is this why light scrapes and "blunt trauma" have been the source of tetanus infection? I could never figure out how these types of wounds translated to infection when they were not a deep puncture so you would think lots of air.