Tetanus and antitetanic vaccination: a study in the urban population of Londrina (Paraná, Brazil)

Abstract

Employing a standardized questionary, an inquiry was made among three groups in the urban population of the city of Londrina (Paraná, Brazil), including 602 housewives, 464 high-school and 778 university students. The aims were: to determine the number of subjects vaccinated, against tetanus; to evaluate the degree of knowledge regarding tetanus, antitetanic vaccine and antitetanic serum; to establish a relationship between these indices and some characteristics of each group of the population studied. The conclusions pointed to incorrect concepts and lack of information about tetanus and antitetanic vaccine being prevalent among the population of the urban zone of Londrina. The signification and the consequences of these facts are discussed, and it is assured that the high morbidity of tetanus, in Brazil, should mean a serious warning to Public Health authorities. These and similar results should be regarded when changes in programmes of antitetanic vaccination are considered; these results are applicable to reviews on methods of health education regarding this subject, as well as scientificae resources available for its prophilaxis.