- Pathogen:
- Clostridium tetani
- Precautions:
- Standard
- Diagnosis:
- Clinical signs. Recent trauma. Gram-staining and anaerobic culture.
- Pathogen Information:
- Spore-forming, gram-positive rods. Neurotoxic clostridia.
- Epidemiology:
- C. tetani endospores from soil or feces cause infection when introduced to wounds. Deep wound with necrotic tissue highest risk. Susceptibility to toxin varies between species: High in horses. Moderate in pigs and small ruminants. Poultry are resistant.
- Associated Syndromes:
- Tetanus.
- Additional Information:
- Resource: Quinn, P. J., et al. Concise Review of Veterinary Microbiology, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2015.