Tetanus: historical and palaeopathological aspects considering its current health impact
The present article summarises the historical and palaeopathological evidence of tetanus, an ineradicable yet vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Clostridium tetani. The antiquity of the disease is described thanks to historical written sources, artistic references and very recent palaeogenetic data. A recollection of now long-supplanted therapies is offered together with a focus on the introduction of an effective vaccine. Moreover, a potential identification of tetanus in the Bible is analysed and general considerations on the current health relevance of tetanus are presented.
Authors
- Francesco Maria Galassi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8902-3142)
- Elena Varotto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6637-9402)
- Simon Donell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6664-7470)
- Mariano Martini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5703-0858)
- Valentina Vittori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9458-8412)
- Michael Nerlich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6562-1017)
- Raffaella Bianucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2740-4112)
Institutions
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- Flinders University (AU)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- University of Łódź (PL)
- Laboratoire Anthropologie, Archéologie, Biologie (FR)
- University of Genoa (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PubMed
- Published
- 2024-08-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2024.65.4.3376
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Diphtheria, Corynebacterium, and Tetanus
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.62