Equid Blog : Horse Health & Diseases : University of Guelph : Ontario Veterinary College : Equine Infectious Diseases

Here's a question I received the other day:

"Do people who work with animals and who work in barns need a tetanus shot as a result of this type of work?  We have Therapeutic Riding Programs in the region and there is a sense that perhaps the volunteers and those who frequently tend the horses need to receive this.  Is this the case?"

Tetanus is a disease that we are quite concerned about in horses because horses are very susceptible to it. That's why we vaccinate them yearly. Tetanus can also affect people, but very rarely because of vaccination and because people have lower susceptibility to the disease. While we pay a lot of attention to tetanus in horses, this does not mean that being around horses increases a person's likelihood of exposure to tetanus. The bacterium that causes tetanus, Clostridium tetani, lives in soil and commonly present in the environment. The more environmental exposure that you have (especially to soil), the greater your risk of exposure to C. tetani. Being around horses doesn't increase your risk any more than doing other things outside.

Whether you have contact with horses or not should not change your approach towards tetanus prevention. You should be vaccinated against tetanus every 10 years. Many (probably most, actually) adults are not up-to-date on tetanus vaccination. Adults tend not to get booster shots on schedule, and often only receive them when they have had a wound that requires medical care. For example, If you get stitches, the medical staff will almost certainly inquire about your last tetanus shot, and give you another one if you haven't been vaccinated in the past 10 years (or if you can't remember).

More information about tetanus in horses is available on the equIDblog Resources page.

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I was reading a fact sheet on foal care today that was available online. It was one of those sources that gives a mixture of good, mediocre and bad information. One thing that I didn't like was a reference to tetanus antitoxin administration being a common practice in newborn foals. That might have been the case a couple of decades ago, but it is certainly not recommended now.

Tetanus is certainly a serious problem in horses, and foals are at risk for exposure because the bacterium that causes the disease, Clostridium tetani, is widespread in the environment. Good measures need to be in place to reduce the risk of foals developing tetanus. The most important steps are:

• Ensure the mare is properly vaccinated for tetanus prior to foaling. This includes a booster that should be given approximately 30 days before foaling.
• Ensure that the foal gets enough good quality colostrum (see the information sheet on the Resources page for more details about colostrum for foals).
• Treat the umbilicus properly after birth (for more information, see our previous post entitled "Starting Out Right - Foal Umbilical Care").

If these things are done, there is no need to give tetanus antitoxin to a newborn foal. In fact, it's not only unnecessary, it's a potential health risk. Tetanus antitoxin neutralizes tetanus toxins that are in bloodstream. It used to be widely used in horses of all ages if they were wounded. However, administration of tetanus antitoxin has been associated with a disease called Theiler's Disease or serum hepatitis. While rare, this is a severe and almost always fatal liver disease.

Tetanus antitoxin is only potentially indicated in foals whose mares were not vaccinated against tetanus (or their vaccination status is unknown) and possibly in foals that did not receive adequate colostrum.

More information on tetanus, colostrum and vaccination recommendations can be found on the  equIDblog Resources page.

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A common (and reasonable) question that I get asked periodically is “Why do I vaccinate my horse every year against tetanus but I only get a booster every 10 years?”   There are actually some good reasons for the difference.

Tetanus is a devastating disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani. It used to be very common, but is now rare because of effective vaccination. Although the disease is rare, the bacterium that causes it is very common, and can be found in soil and manure almost anywhere. Horses typically get exposed to C. tetani through soil contamination of  wounds, especially puncture wounds of the foot or lower leg.

• Horses are probably more at risk of exposure to C. tetani than people, because these types puncture wounds happen frequently in horses, and the wounds are possibly more likely to be contaminated with the tetanus bacterium.
• Horses are extremely susceptible to tetanus (more than people and most animals), so situations that would not necessarily cause a problem in people could cause tetanus in a horse.

Given their risk of exposure, their susceptibility to the disease, and the difficulty (and high cost) of treating tetanus in horses, and the safety and effectiveness of vaccination, it is recommended that horses are vaccinated frequently for tetanus. It is possible that longer intervals for vaccination than every year could be used, but there is currently no information that tells us how long we can stretch it. So, erring on the side of caution, and considering tetanus vaccination is safe and cheap, it makes sense to vaccinate horses every year.

More information on tetanus is available on the equIDblog Resources page.

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Click on any of the highlighted links below for more information about these horse-related infectious disease topics. Topics that are not highlighted are in development and coming soon. New information will be added as it becomes available, so be sure to check this page regularly for the latest updates.

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