Seroprotection against tetanus in the Italian general population

Abstract

BackgroundTetanus is a non-communicable disease, preventable with vaccination. Despite the implemented vaccination strategy, a certain number of tetanus cases per year continue to occur. The aim of the study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-tetanus antibodies in the Italian population by age, sex and geographical area. MethodsTo determine the level of tetanus-specific antibodies, an immunoenzymatic assay was used. ResultsA total of 3,821 serum samples were collected in the years 2019–20 from healthy subjects aged 6–90 years residing in 13 Italian regions. Overall, 85 % of the tested subjects resulted positive. The rate of subjects protected against tetanus showed a gradual decrease from the younger age groups to the older ones (6–12 years: 93.6 %, 13–24 years: 91.8 %, 25–39 years: 91.0 %, 40–64 years: 78.2 %, ≥ 65 years: 45.3 %); this is particularly evident in the Southern regions and Islands. Moreover, the prevalence of subjects with low protection (<0.1 IU/ml) was significantly higher in the ≥ 65 age group (10.3 %). Males and females’ prevalence showed a significant difference only in the oldest age group (M: 60.8 %, F: 30.4 %). In general, a higher prevalence was observed for Northern (90.8 %) and Central regions (87.3 %) than Southern regions and Islands (80.0 %). ConclusionThese data, compared with epidemiological ones which showed a high number of cases in the elderly, confirmed that the population with lower protection has a greater risk of contracting the disease, demonstrating the need for adequate immunization through both primary vaccination and boosters for all ages and both sexes, in order to provide lifelong protection.