[Tetanus immunity in old age]

Among 1546 elderly persons (above 60 years of age) from a large town the immunity against tetanus was tested. 1043 persons (66.18%) had no antibodies against tetanus-toxoid in their serum. Almost half of the remaining positive sera (33.82%) showed antibody titers between 0.01 and 0.1 IU/ml. It is open to discussion if these titers warrant complete protection against the disease. On the contrary, children or young men serving in the army showed good immunity with high antibody titers. Tetanus has become a rare disease in the western countries, but cases still occur. The disease affects nowadays mainly adults. The older the patient the higher is its mortality. According to our study, many old people are not protected against tetanus. The risk of infection is widespread. It is strongly recommended to immunize also elderly persons at regular intervals. The vaccination against tetanus is cheap, well tolerated and yields a good immunity even in old age.