Tetanus is a spastic paralysis caused by tetanus toxin (TeNT), a neurotoxin made by Clostridium tetani growing in a contaminated wound. Dogs are far more resistant to the toxin than horses or people, so the disease is uncommon, but an affected dog can need weeks of intensive nursing, and a few deteriorate to recumbency, autonomic instability and death.
Key facts
Tetanus at a glance- Species and system: dog; nervous system (toxin acting in the spinal cord and brainstem).
- Cause: TeNT from C. tetani, a gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming soil bacterium with round terminal spores ("drumstick" shape).
- Typical patient: a young dog with a wound, most often on a digit or nail bed, about a week before signs began.
- Classic presentation: an alert dog with lips drawn back (risus sardonicus), trismus, erect ears, enophthalmos with third eyelid protrusion, a stiff sawhorse stance and spasms triggered by noise or touch.
- Diagnosis: clinical; there is no routine confirmatory test.
- Treatment: wound debridement, metronidazole, antitoxin for unbound toxin, sedation and muscle relaxation, and nursing care.
- Not contagious between animals or to people; people and animals are infected from the environment.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 4 tables, 2 figures, 3 self-test questions and 9 references, available to NAVLE members.
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