Notes from the Field: Obstetric Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Woman After a Home Birth Delivery - Kentucky, 2016.

• Authors: Anna Yaffee, Emory University; David L. Day, Lincoln Trail District Health Department; Glenda Bastin, Lincoln Trail District Health Department; Mary Powell, Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness; Sandra Melendez, Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness; Nancy Allen, Central Medical Associates Elizabethtown; Julie Miracle, Kentucky Department for Public Health; Margaret Jones, Kentucky Department for Public Health; Robert Brawley, Kentucky Department for Public Health
• Journal Title: MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
• Volume: Volume 66, Number 11
• Publisher: US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | 2017-03-24, Pages 307-308
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6611a7
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Immunology
• Keywords: Adult; Advisory Committees; Amish; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); Female; Home Childbirth; Humans; Kentucky; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Pregnancy; Tetanus; Tetanus Toxoid; United States; Vaccination

Abstract

On July 11, 2016, state and local health departments in Kentucky were notified of a case of obstetric tetanus in an unvaccinated woman. Obstetric tetanus, which occurs during pregnancy or within 6 weeks of the end of pregnancy, follows contamination of wounds with Clostridium tetani spores during pregnancy, or the use of contaminated tools or practices during nonsterile deliveries or abortions. CDC did not identify any cases of obstetric tetanus in the United States during 1972–2008. State and local health departments in Kentucky investigated this case to identify risk factors and provide recommendations.