Why immunise? Protect against Whooping cough, measles & tetanus.
Transcript available at the Ministry of Health website [1].
Read about an NZ family's experience of tetanus in their 7-year-old son, in 2012 [2] (NZ Herald article).
Tetanus is a life-threatening condition caused by the bacteria Clostridium tetani in the soil. Tetanus usually develops after a 'dirty' wound but can develop after small or even unnoticed injuries.
Bacteria in the wound produce a toxin. This toxin causes:
Someone with tetanus will be very sick and need to go to hospital. Children and old people are especially at risk.
About 1 in 10 people who catch tetanus will die. In those who survive the disease, recovery can take many months, including time in intensive care.
There were about 30 tetanus cases (adults and children) in New Zealand from 1997 to 2014. Of the children who have had tetanus in recent years, all were unimmunised.
If you decide not to immunise your child against tetanus, you need to take extra steps to keep your child safe if they have an injury that breaks the skin.
Please go to your local emergency department and tell the staff that your child has not been immunised.
In the emergency department, if the wound is clean and minor, hospital staff will need to give your child the tetanus vaccine. This is for the safety of your child. This is less effective at preventing tetanus than immunisation before any injury.
If the wound is dirty and deep, your child is at high risk for developing tetanus. They will need tetanus immunoglobulin as well as the tetanus vaccine. Tetanus immunoglobulin is a concentrate of antibodies to tetanus taken from the blood of immunised donors. It is less effective at preventing tetanus than immunisation, but it can help make the disease less severe. It can also help reduce the time your child has the infection.
Only immunisation can prevent tetanus.
You get tetanus from the environment, rather than from other people. For that reason, you cannot rely on immunisation of other people to provide any protection to your unimmunised child.
Immunisation against tetanus is part of the free immunisation schedule for your child at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 5 months of age with boosters at 4 and 11 years of age (and adults also need boosters). If your child is older than 12 months and unimmunised, there is a catch-up schedule - 3 doses at least 4 weeks apart.
Immunisation short videos - why immunise? [6]
Immunisation short videos - vaccine preventable diseases are serious [7]
You usually need to take pēpi and tamariki to a GP practice for their immunisation.
Some pēpi and tamariki can have their immunisation from other services like Māori and Pacific providers or outreach services.
Check immunisation providers in your area [8].
There is no vaccine for children that protects only against tetanus in New Zealand. It is a combination vaccine.
Tetanus immunisation is extremely safe, extremely effective, and necessary to prevent tetanus infection. Talk to your health professional about any questions you may have.
The vaccine contains modified (inactivated) tetanus toxin and no live bacteria. Mild reactions such as pain or redness where the needle went in are common. More general reactions such as headache, fever or tiredness are uncommon. Serious reactions including allergy are very rare.
Starship Child Health. Clinical guideline: Tetanus prophylaxis [10]. April 2021.
Immunisation Advisory Centre. Tetanus [11].
Adapted from a parent handout 'Tetanus and the unimmunised child', developed by the Infectious Diseases Service, Starship Child Health.
This page last reviewed 20 June 2023.
Email us [13] your feedback
Links
[1] https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/immunisation
[2] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10855638
[3] https://healthed.govt.nz/products/immunise-their-best-protection-english-version
[4] https://cdn.accentuate.io/5313713668254/11408390422661/HE1221-Protect-Your-Child-Poster_Feb-2023_3.0_WEB-v1678132836436.PDF
[5] https://cdn.accentuate.io/5313713733790/11408390422661/HE2521-Immunise---their-best-protection-te-reo-Maori-WEB-v1682566408241.pdf
[6] https://kidshealth.org.nz/immunisation-short-videos-why-immunise
[7] https://kidshealth.org.nz/immunisation-short-videos-vaccine-preventable-diseases-are-serious
[8] https://www.healthpoint.co.nz/immunisation/
[9] https://kidshealth.org.nz/tags/immunisation
[10] https://starship.org.nz/guidelines/tetanus-prophylaxis/
[11] https://www.immune.org.nz/diseases/tetanus
[12] https://kidshealth.org.nz/node/2503?language=zh-hant
[13] https://kidshealth.org.nz/contact?from=http%3A%2F%2Fkidshealth.org.nz%2Fprint%2F2502%3Flanguage%3Dzh-hant