Clostridium tetani

Common card · No. 210342

Clostridium tetani is a common soil bacterium and the causative agent of tetanus, a disease that afflicts up to 400,000 people each year, mainly newborns. Vegetative cells of Clostridium tetani are usually rod-shaped and up to 2.5 μm long, but they become enlarged and tennis racket- or drumstick-shaped when forming spores. C. tetani spores are extremely hardy and can be found globally in soil or in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. If inoculated into a wound, C. tetani can grow and produce a potent toxin, tetanospasmin, which interferes with motor neurons, causing tetanus. The toxin's action can be prevented with tetanus toxoid vaccines, which are often administered to children worldwide.

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