Conventionally, for estimation of potency of tetanus toxoid by Antibody Induction Method (AIM), two doses (1/10 th of single human dose/dose) of tetanus toxoid given on 0 th and 28 th day, injected subcutaneously into guinea pigs has been recommended. But this assay has a serious drawback of ‘booster effects’ as the animal is immunized on two occasions besides usage of large number of animals. ...

Tetanus immunity produced in man by injections of tetanus toxoid is receiving an increasing amount of attention. That man responds to two or three injections of such toxoid-preferably alum-precipitated-with the production of antitoxin has been established firmly by a number of investigators during the past few years. Of the more recent work, that by Bergey and Etris,2 Bergey,' Jones and Moss,6 ...

In this issue of Pediatrics Acosta et al present a tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis, adsorbed (Tdap) vaccine effectiveness study in adolescents in Washington State during the first 6 months of 2012. Their findings support the previous Tdap effectiveness data from Wisconsin. The duration of Tdap effectiveness is disappointing, particularly because case-control s...

We studied the interactions of hepatitis B vaccine with other vaccines used in the World Health Organization expanded programs of immunization. Three groups of Senegalese children were vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine (HB) alone, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP)-polio vaccine alone, or a combination of hepatitis B vaccine and DTP-polio vaccines simultaneously. The immune responses to HBsAg...

Maternal or neonatal tetanus causes deaths primarily in Asia and Africa and is usually the result of poor hygiene during delivery. In 2011, three neonatal tetanus cases were investigated in Papua New Guinea, and all three cases were delivered at home by untrained assistants. The babies were normal at birth but subsequently developed spasms. A neonatal tetanus case must be viewed as a sentinel e...