Tetanus is a serious disease in newborn infants. Each year, more than 450 000 infants die from neonatal tetanus (tetanus in the first month of life), and nearly 40 000 mothers die from tetanus infection acquired during delivery. If the mother is not immunized with the correct number of doses of a tetanus toxoid vaccine, neither she nor her newborn infant is protected against tetanus at the time of birth.
