The more you know...(about tetanus)
So I cleaved the tip of my thumb with a guillotine-style paper cutter (see here):
The instrument being metal, my first thought after controlling the bleeding went to tetanus. I’m pretty sure I’m up on my vaccinations, but when I thought about the association of tetanus with rust and metal (think of how many times you were warned as a kid to avoid “rusty nails” because of their risk of tetanus), I became curiously skeptical. I know you receive vaccinations for tetanus, and as far as I know (please correct me if I’m wrong) vaccines only work to prevent or cure diseases caused by biological pathogens (i.e. viruses and bacteria and not elemental or compound toxins like lead or cyanide). It then struck me as odd that a particular bacteria (ruled out virus as it doesn’t fit the profile) would adhere particularly to oxidized materials (rust). So, Wikipedia has dispelled the myth for me:
“Tetanus is often associated with rust, especially rusty nails, but this concept is somewhat misleading. Objects that accumulate rust are often found outdoors, or in places that harbor anaerobic bacteria, but the rust itself does not cause tetanus nor does it contain more C. tetani bacteria. The rough surface of rusty metal merely provides a prime habitat for a C. tetani endospore to reside, and the nail affords a means to puncture skin and deliver endospore into the wound. An endospore is a non-metabolising survival structure that begins to metabolise and cause infection once in an adequate environment. Because C. tetani is an anaerobic bacterium, it and its endospores survive well in an environment that lacks oxygen. Hence, stepping on a nail (rusty or not) may result in a tetanus infection, as the low-oxygen (anaerobic) environment is provided by the same object which causes a puncture wound, delivering endospores to a suitable environment for growth.”
So there you have it. Maybe you all already knew this, but I found it interesting…
1 month ago