Observations from a cluster survey on seasonality in neonatal tetanus

This report presents the observations on seasonality and neonatal tetanus (NNT) mortality from a cluster survey on NNT mortality conducted in Kano metropolis, Northern Nigeria. A two stage cluster sampling method was used for the survey. There were 2,623 live-births with 1778 (67%) occurring in the dry season (October-May). The NNT mortality rate was 20.6/1000 live-births. The magnitude of neonatal mortality and NNT mortality were 47.3 and 30.8 per 1000 live-births respectively for the wet season. These were much higher than the comparative figures for dry season. There was, however, no significant association between seasonality and NNT mortality since the same trend was observed for non-NNT deaths.