Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases: Tetanus and Parkinson's Disease

1. Infectious and NonInfectious Diseases
Tetanus and Parkinson’s Disease
By Rebecca Castor

2. Tetanus : Terms
O Lockjaw: another name/nickname for Tetanus
O Toxins: poison produced by an organism such
as bacteria.
O Clostridium tetani: the specific bacteria which
creates the toxin which causes Tetanus.
O Incubation period: the period of time between
infection of antibodies and the appearance of
symptoms.
O Antitoxin: an antibody which counteracts a toxin
O Bacillus: specific type of bacteria.

3. Cause and Transmission
O Caused by toxins produced in the bacteria
Clostridium Tetani.
O Enter the body through open cuts/wounds
O Clostridium Tetani grows in dust and
dirt, thriving in conditions with minimal air
flow.
Clostridium Tetani bacteria
Common
locations for
Clostridium
Tetani are
old nails and
rusty objects

4. Symptoms
O Symptoms can occur after 8-10days or several
weeks after infection. This period of time is called
the ‘incubation period’ Including:
O Initially: trouble operating the mouth  swallowing
(Hence the nickname Lockjaw)
O Shortly after: all muscles in the body tighten and
spasm which may interfere with breathing.
O If untreated: victim may die from heat exhaustion or
suffer from suffocation from not being able to
breath sufficient oxygen.

5. Minor Symptoms
O Sore throat
O Irritability
O Restlessness
O Fever
O Exaggerated reflexes
O Profuse sweating
O Headaches
O Feeling depresses
O Chills

6. Treatment
O If tetanus develops antitoxin injections can be
administered which contains antibodies to kill the
original invading toxin.
O Muscle relaxants such as Diazepam to reduce
spasms
O In severe cases a tracheotomy can occur:
artifically opening the trachea to ensure the
patient can breath (as mouth doesn’t function correctly).

7. Prevention
O Immunization: injections of tetanus toxoid:
specifically treated toxins. Common Vaccine
name called DTaP (Diptheria, Tetanus and Pertussis
(Whooping cough)).
O Thoroughly cleaning and treating wounds also
reduces the risk of infection from bacteria.

8. Incidence
Per 100,000 inhabitants of a country

9. Tetanus notifications and
hospitalisation, Australia 1993-2005

10. Tetanus notifications, hospitalisations and
deaths, Australia 2002-2005 – by age category
• 0% Death rate in Australia
• Low rates of infection
• Highest rates for 60years and over

11. Parkinson’s Disease : Terms
O Dopamine: neurotransmitter  Chemical that carries
messages from nerve cell to nerve cell. Essential for
smooth, coordinated body movements.
O Substantia Nigra: region of the brain which contains
neuronal cells to create Dopamine.
O Parkinsonism: the group of disorders which contain
similar symptoms. However as there is no set cause for
Parkinson’s Parkinsonism covers all stages of the
disease.
O Early Onset Parkinson’s: the name given to
people who suffer from Parkinson’s below the age of
approx. 50

12. Cause and Transmission
Substantia Nigra
O Neuronal cell degeneration.
These cells create
Dopamine.
O Dopamine is created in the
Substantia Nigra, a region of
the brain.
O Loss of Dopamine disrupts
communications pathways
among nerves which control
movement.

13. Symptoms
O Common Symptoms:
O Tremors
O Walks with a shuffle
O Slowness in movement
O Accompanying symptoms:
O Difficulty with certain movements
O Face growing rigid: masklike expression
O Trouble rising from a chair
O Physiological effects: depression and dementia
O Serious disability
O Postural instability

14. Treatment
Once the degeneration of neurons has begun,
Parkinson’s cannot be stopped or removed from the
body, only controlled and minimised.
O Replacing lost dopamine by a drug called Levodopa
which converts surviving nerve cells to dopamine
O Provides a dramatic improvement to symptoms
O Effectiveness of Levodopa reduces after time
O Troubling side effects: abnormal movement, changes in
muscle control, sleepless, vivid nightmares,
hallucinations, confusion.

15. Prevention
O No definite cause for Parkinson’s disease
O Cannot be prevented through
immunization or procedures due to
unknown causes
O Parkinson’s disease can only be treated
after the process of degeneration has
begun in the body, to control symptoms
and slow the progress of the disease.

16. Incidence
Cases of Parkinson’s disease per 100000 residents of a

17. Incidence Statistics
O Age related illness, which generally effects
people between 50-70 years old
O Early Onset Parkinson’s – people below 40-50
O Across Australian studies there is a general
trend for makes to suffer Parkinson’s rather
than females
O It is estimated to effect between 38300-64000
people in Australia – exact numbers are
unavailable due to symptoms sometimes
being ‘invisible’ to diagnostic testing.

18. Projected worldwide prevalence

19. Resources Used
O Tetanus:
O World Book Online - Tetanus
O Geographical Distribution of Tetanus in the
O
O
O
O
O
World, 1951-60, by B. Bytchenko
Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care
and Pain - Tetanus
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Wikipedia
New Scientist
www. health.gov.au
O Parkinson’s Disease:
O www.parkinsons.org.au
O World Book Online
O Australia's Health 2012, Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare (Australian Government)