Abstract
BackgroundThe low uptake of tetanus vaccine and its resultant high burden of tetanus in Nigeria suggest the need to improve routine and booster vaccination in children and adolescents. However, epidemiological evidence for vaccination in the adolescent age group needed for effective strategy and policy formulation is lacking. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of protective immunity against tetanus and to identify risk factors for non-protective immunity among schooling adolescents.MethodsUsing a three-stage sampling technique, 851 female adolescents were randomly selected from secondary schools in Ibadan, Nigeria. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to obtain data on demographic and socio-economic characteristics and history of tetanus vaccination. An immuno-chromatographic rapid test kit, “Tetanos Quick Stick” was used to test specific anti-tetanus antibody protective level in venous blood samples. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were done with level of significance set at p = 0.05.ResultsMean age of participants was 14.3 ± 1.9 years. Seroprevalence of protective immunity against tetanus was 38.1% and it significantly decreased with increasing age. More adolescents in public (65.4%) than private (44.7%) schools had non-protective level of immunity. A significantly increasing trend in the risk of non-protective immunity was observed with decreasing level of mothers’ education. Also, the Odds of non-protective level of immunity was significantly higher in public than private schools (OR = 2.14; 95% CI =1.39, 3.20) but lower among adolescents who had history of recent tetanus toxoid injection than those who did not (OR = 0.11 95% CI = 0.09, 0.22). However, no significant association was found between protective immunity against tetanus and parents’ marital status as well as family size.ConclusionProtective immunity against tetanus among female adolescents was poor, more so in public schools and those who had not received vaccination a year prior to the study. Policy-makers need to consider the inclusion of immunization against tetanus in the school health programme.
Highlights
The low uptake of tetanus vaccine and its resultant high burden of tetanus in Nigeria suggest the need to improve routine and booster vaccination in children and adolescents
A previous study has shown that after the fifth dose, protective antibody levels may last for about 20 years [9] with resultant protection for the mother and her newborn who would be sufficiently protected against tetanus [8]
Almost two-thirds (62.4%) of participants were in the range of 2nd to 4th born of their mothers, while 28.8% were 1st born and the others were beyond the 4th position (8.8%) among mother’s children
Summary
The low uptake of tetanus vaccine and its resultant high burden of tetanus in Nigeria suggest the need to improve routine and booster vaccination in children and adolescents. Tetanus is one of the leading causes of death among hospitalised children in Nigeria especially in the neonatal age group. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that women of childbearing age, should commence a 5-dose regimen of vaccination against tetanus as early as possible [6,7,8]. This comprises; first dose given at any time during the ages 15 to 45 years, a second dose four weeks later and a third dose given 6–12 months after the first two doses. A previous study has shown that after the fifth dose, protective antibody levels may last for about 20 years [9] with resultant protection for the mother and her newborn who would be sufficiently protected against tetanus [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
