Question
I’ve heard that it’s very dangerous for a baby to contract tetanus at birth. I want to know about the surveillance situation for newborn tetanus. How is surveillance conducted? Are there specific case definitions?
Answer
To ensure the quality of surveillance and achieve the goal of eliminating neonatal tetanus, we adopt the following standard case definitions:
- Suspected Neonatal Tetanus Cases:
- Any cases of neonatal tetanus reported by trained healthcare personnel (uninvestigated); or
- Any death cases and cases with difficulty in suckling occurring from the 2nd to the 28th day after birth, whose causes are unclear.
- Confirmed Neonatal Tetanus Cases:
- Normal suckling and crying after birth;
- Onset of illness between the 2nd and 28th day after birth;
- Inability to suckle or difficulty in eating followed by muscle rigidity and/or spasms.
- Excluded Neonatal Tetanus Cases:
- Suspected cases that do not meet the diagnosis criteria for confirmed cases can be excluded;
- Exclusion cases should have a clear diagnosis;
- Uninvestigated suspected cases are classified as confirmed cases. These are our case definitions and methods for excluding cases in newborn tetanus surveillance.