Clinical and epidemiological profile of cases and deaths due to accidental tetanus in Minas Gerais between 2007 and 2022

Abstract

Tetanus is an acute infectious, non-contagious disease resulting from the binomial solution of skin/mucosal continuity and contamination by the bacillus Clostridium tetani. It is a vaccine-preventable disease and highly lethal. The present study aimed to perform an epidemiologic analysis of accidental tetanus cases confirmed in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and quantitative epidemiological study. The methodological strategy involved the analysis of epidemiological bulletins provided by the Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Sinan) and the Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade (SIM) from 2007 to 2022. There were 395 reported cases and 27% of deaths due to complications of this infection. Belo Horizonte, Ipatinga, Montes Claros and Juiz de Fora were the cities with the highest prevalence of the disease. It was found that males, brown people, aged between 40 and 59 years, with a low level of education and urban dwellers were the most affected. There were 12 cases of infection in pregnant women. The profile of individuals who died was male, 50 years or older, white race, married, with less education and with an occupation related to the production of industrial goods and services.