A Message From
Self Quiz:
Tetanus Gardening Risks
Ask yourself these 4 questions to
find out how much you know about
tetanus risks:
Y N
C C
C C
C C
C C
Circle Yes or No
1. Can a cut, scrape or scratch
from working around your
home, garden or yard
expose you to tetanus?
2. When working around
your home, garden or yard,
do you take steps to prevent
wounds that could break
your skin? (For example,
do you use gloves or
protective clothing,
footwear, or eyewear?)
3. Are older people at greater
risk of tetanus infections
than children?
4. Have you had a tetanus shot
in the last 10 years?
If you answered “no” to any of these
questions, you should learn more about
tetanus infection risks. Getting injuries
while working in your home, garden
or yard is something you aren’t likely
to escape.
84% of Americans participate
of
Bob Vila
in gardening or yard work every
After decades in the
home improvement
field, I understand the
value of safety precautions while working
in and around the home. That’s why I’m
helping the Power of 10SM campaign get the
word out about tetanus risks in yards and
gardens, and what you can do to protect
yourself and your family.
year;
Wearing gloves and protective clothing can
limit injuries that lead to tetanus. However,
the only sure way to protect yourself from
tetanus and another potentially deadly disease,
diphtheria, is to keep your immunization up
to date with a Td booster shot every 10
years—So if it’s been 10, do it again!
Before you start tending to your yard
this season, tend to yourself. Check with
your health care provider about your Td
booster status.
For more details about the Power of 10SM campaign,
tetanus, and diphtheria, visit www.nfid.org.
came from garden, yard, or
farm injuries.
Say the word “tetanus,” and most people think
of rusty nails. But tetanus bacteria lurk in many
places—including ordinary soil. And that can be
a hazard to your health.
Get the
Dirton
Tetanus!
What you need to know to stay
safe from tetanus bacteria lurking
in your yard and garden.
National Coalition for
Adult Immunization
4733 Bethesda Avenue • Suite 750 • Bethesda, Maryland 20814
www.nfid.org
The Power of 10SM campaign is made possible by an unrestricted
educational grant to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
from Aventis Pasteur.
31% of tetanus cases
reported between 1998 and 2000
The soil, compost, and packaged potting
mixtures that nourish your plants and trees
can also harbor tetanus bacteria. If dirt
enters any wound, even a tiny one, you
can be exposed to infection and a
serious disease.
®
Check the survey results in this brochure
to see how your knowledge of tetanus
exposure risks compares to others.
Power
®
National Coalition for
Adult Immunization
It means that simple gardening and yard work can
expose you to a potentially deadly infection. All it
takes is a small cut, scrape, or splinter.
Gardening is the second most popular leisure
activity (after walking) in the United States. Bob
Vila, the National Foundation for Infectious
Diseases/National Coalition for Adult Immunization
(NFID/NCAI), and the National Gardening
Association (NGA) want to make it a safer activity
by educating the public about how to reduce
tetanus risks.
Public Beliefs About
Tetanus&Gardening
NFID/NCAI and NGA surveyed the general
public regarding their likely injuries and
risks to tetanus exposure while working in
the home, garden or yard, as well as the
steps they take to avoid injuries that could
lead to tetanus. Harris Interactive surveyed
more than 2,000 households, speaking with
respondents aged 18 years and older.
Highlights of the survey responses include:
• Although a large number of respondents
(80%) reported some type of tetanus-prone
injury while working around the home,
garden or yard, 40% reported they have
not had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years.
Here are two easy ways you can
make sure tetanus bacteria don’t
catch you off-guard:
• Keep your immunity current with a tetanus/
diphtheria booster every 10 years. Since the late
1940s, children in the U.S. have routinely received
an initial series of tetanus and diphtheria shots,
followed by boosters every 10 years. If you’ve
never had a tetanus/diphtheria vaccination or
you’re not sure about your immunization status,
ask your health care provider.
• Wear gloves and protective clothes when you’re
working around the garden or yard to guard
against cuts, scratches and other injuries. Gloves
and clothes may prevent an injury, and can also
create a barrier so bacteria are less likely to sneak
into your system through an open wound.
• 76% of consumers surveyed realize
that a tetanus booster is recommended
every 10 years, yet the CDC says more
than half of all adults in the U.S. are
unprotected against these diseases, most
likely because they missed boosters or
were never vaccinated.
Diphtheria
Health authorities recommend a tetanus booster
every 10 years, but fewer than half of adults in
the U.S. are protected against this disease.
Diphtheria is still a public health problem in 87
countries, and the bacteria may still circulate in
some parts of the U.S. and Canada.
• It’s a potentially fatal disease.
Today, most children in the U.S. receive a series of
Td shots at an early age. While the “T” part of this
vaccine protects against tetanus, the “d” part covers
diphtheria, which infects the throat and tonsils.
• It’s not contagious; you can’t catch it from
someone else.
• It’s caused by infections from bacteria that are
widespread in the environment—in soil, dust,
insects, and animals (you can get tetanus from
an insect or animal bite).
• The most common form of tetanus can
cause paralysis.
• The first symptoms are often stiffness in the neck
and trouble swallowing—the reason a tetanus
infection is also called “lockjaw.”
• Symptoms show up about 8 days after exposure
to the bacteria but can appear any time from 3
days to 3 weeks later.
• 57% of respondents did not know
tetanus bacteria are commonly found in
soil, dirt and manure. According to the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), 31% of tetanus
injuries occur in the yard or garden, or
on a farm; an additional 23% occur
around other outdoor locations.
• Although 86% of respondents believe
that children face a greater risk for a
tetanus infection than older people,
the risk actually increases with age.
According to the CDC, at least 40% of
people age 60 years and older, and 70%
of adults age 70 years and older, are not
protected against tetanus and diphtheria
(another infectious disease prevented by
the combined tetanus/diphtheria vaccine).
Tetanus
The NFID/NCAI and the NGA are working together
to educate consumers about tetanus risks around the
home, garden and yard, and to encourage protection
through routine boosters with the combined tetanus/
diphtheria vaccine. For more information about
everything related to gardening, visit www.garden.org.
• A tetanus infection can be difficult to diagnose
and complicated to treat, taking weeks or months
for recovery.
• Immunity wears off. A booster shot is needed
every 10 years to keep protection strong.
• The most common tetanus shot is a combination
vaccine that also protects against diphtheria.
• Older adults have an increased risk of tetanus
and diphtheria compared to children and young
adults; this is likely because older adults may
not have received the initial series of shots to
establish protection, or because many adults may
have simply forgotten to stay up-to-date with a
booster shot every 10 years.
• Like tetanus, diphtheria can be fatal or
cause paralysis.
• Unlike tetanus, diphtheria is contagious, spreading
from person to person. With diphtheria, wound
barriers like gloves don’t help. The vaccine
provides the best protection.
• A diphtheria infection can also be difficult to
diagnose and complicated to treat, taking weeks
or months for recovery.
In 1990, an outbreak of diphtheria in the former
Soviet Union made more than 157,000 people ill
and killed 5,000. As recently as October 2003,
a U.S. citizen died from diphtheria after being
exposed to the disease on a trip abroad; he had
not been vaccinated.
SM