Epidemiology of neonatal tetanus in Yibin in Sichuan province, 2001-2010

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of neonatal tetanus (NT) in Yibin and explore effective measures for the further reduction of NT incidence. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the NT surveillance data in Yibin from 2001 to 2010. Results Sixty two confirmed NT cases were reported in Yibin during this period. The average annual incidence ranged from 0.04 to 0.20, and the average annual case fatality was 67.74%. The disease occurred all the year round, more males were affected. NT attacked the newborns 6 days after birth averagely. Up to 93.55% of the newborns attacked by NT were born at home and 95.16% of these newborns were delivered by untrained persons. Conclusion Unclean delivery and receiving no antepartum tetanus toxoid injection were the main factors to cause NT. The further promotion of hospitalized child birth, increase of the people's awareness about health care and tetanus toxoid vaccination in high risk group are the important measures to solidify NT eradication achievement and further reduce NT incidence.