Tetanus Research Paper

Introduction: The disease Tetanus is also known as the “lock jaw” or “rusty nail” disease. The word Tetanus derives from the Greek word Tetanus with means to stretch. Tetanus was discovered in 1884 by Carle and Rattonem and later in 1889 Kitsato isolated the organism, to ultimately prove that a disease was made when injected into an animal. Tetanus is an infection that creates the bacteria Clostridum tetani. The bacterium produces a toxin which can harm the nervous system and the brain. Excessive muscle spasms also come along with the disease, and these occur most often in the neck and jaw area. The spasms in the neck and jaw area can lead to respiratory issues. There is a lot of information you should know about Tetanus in order to remain free from this fatal disease.
Characteristics:
First, Clostridium tetani is anaerobic which means that its living conditions are absent of air of free of oxygen. C. tetani is rod shaped and spore forming. As a young culture C. tetani will stain gram positive but as it matures it will stain gram negative. Tetanus can be very fatal in infants and the elderly, especially if not treated right away.
Virulence Factors:
C. tetani produces two exotoxins, tetanolysin and tetanospasmin, which are encoded by plasmid born genes. Tetanospasmin is a neurotoxin that blocks the inhibitory nerve impulses by interfering with the release of neurotransmitters which in turn leads to a spastic paralysis.
Disease