[Tetanus in Brazil: a disease of the elderly?]

Epidemiological data regarding the age distribution of tetanus in Brazil is scarce. This work analyzed the historical evolution of tetanus in Brazil, between 1980 and 1991, according to the Mortality Information System and established the age distribution for this disease. The data used was that provided by FUNASA-CENEPI, DATASUS and IBGE. Between 1980 and 1991, the coefficient of general incidence dropped from 2.6 to 1.0 case per 100,000 inhabitants. There was a decline in the mortality coefficients within all the age groups, except in the elderly. In the North and South regions, there was an increase in the mortality coefficient among the elderly. Infantile tetanus is disappearing, particularly, in the developed areas. However, the overall lethality tended to rise in this period and, in 1991, it reached 32.5%. In Brazil, tetanus presents epidemic behavior similar to that observed in the developed countries, where the elderly represent the main risk group to contract and die from the disease.