Tetanus Neonatorum in the Tropics—A Suggestion for Its Reduction

cases led to a great decrease in the post mortems on tetanus cases. In an analysis of 1,600 post mortems performed by me in Calcutta, recoicle in my Findlayson lectures of 1925, I showed that 2.05 per cent of the total deaths were due ? to tetanus; compared with only 0.1 per cen , twenty times less, in 1,000 post mortems at a London hospital. I also quoted Calcutta s vital statistics to show that 6.04 per cent of the tota deaths were due to tetanus, with 906 such deaths in 1921, 785 of which were in children up to five years of age. The great majority of these are well known to be cases of tetanus neonatorum due to Indian dais or midwives dressing the severed umbilical cords of new-born infants with cow-dung and other filthy applications. In China, tetanus neonatorum has been reported to be appallingly frequent, and a similar high incidence is likely to occur in ?ther tropical countries with backward sanitary customs, such as New Guinea where tetanus is also reported to be common. The treatment o tetanus neonatorum cannot be expected to )e successful in many of the cases, although recoveries are on record. It is therefore w or While considering if anything can be done o lessen the present terribly high incidence oi disease among infants born in tropical countries, apart from the very slow progress of improve social customs. .