Louisiana lead in deaths of tetanus brings action: Parish, State Medical Lead Serum Move

              During 1956 more people in Louisiana died of tetanus or lockjaw than in any other state in the union.
During 1957 tetanus killed more Louisianians than polio and was the fourth leading cause of death from infections and contagious diseases.
From 1952 through 1956, 11 of 12 states which led in lockjaw fatalities were Southern states.
These are startling statistics—j so startling members of the medical profession decided to do something about it.
And so they put their heads together. And came up with a plan for ,an educational campaign to! alert the public to the importance of being immunized against the dread disease.
Members of the Orleans Parish Medical Society, the New Orleans health department and the Louisiana state board of health are all| co-operating in this project. NO ONE NEED DIE
During the campaign the medi-, cal men of the state will emphasize the fact that no one need die from tetanus; that no one need undergo the excruciating suffering which is such an integral part of the disease.
As Dr. Rafael C. Sanchez, secretary of the Orleans Parish Medical Society put it, "You can avoid tetanus so easily."
"All you need to do is take three shots of the toxoid serum," explained the physician. "Say you take the first shot today. Then you'd take the second shot a month later and the third shot a year later. This completes your initial series. After that a booster shot every five years, plus a booster of course to make doubly sure when you injure yourself."
Dr. Sanchez said, as a form of preventive medicine, there are few measures which are so safe, so cheap, so effective. He said tetanus toxoid is as close to being 100 per cent effective as any biological can be.
The physician admitted that there are persons who may argue, "Why bother with toxoid shots? I'll wait until I step on a nail or stick a rusty pin in my finger. Then I'll get a shot of the te0ius antitoxin or horse serum."
Dr. Richard A. Faust, chairman of the tetanus protection committee, which has charge of the campaign, said such a person doesn't know all of the facts.
CAN CAUSE REACTION
What he doesn't realize, addec Dr. Faust, is:
1.  Tetanus antitoxin is not near ly 100 per cent effective.
2.   Tetanus antitoxin causes al Iergic /reactions in one out of every eight persons. Often the allergy is quite severe, sometimes resulting in death.
3.    A   puncture   wound,   which may seem trivial since often there is little or no bleeding, is one oi the favorite breeding grounds for tetanus germs.
D:\ Fuast said no greater prooi of the efficiency of toxoid serum is needed than what happened during World War II.
"Out of almost 3,000,000 hospital admissions for wounds and injuries only two deaths from tetanus occurred among the personnel who had received adequate immunization,".. the committee chairman added.
Dr. Isidore Conn, a member of the tetanus protection committee, said since 10,000,000 men and women served in the American armed forces during the second world war, the record of only two deaths from tetanus was truly a remarkable one.
"Particularly when you compare it with the record among the civilian population," Dr. Cohn added, "During World War II, 1500 American civilians died of lockjaw."
Members of the committee agreed that there is no disease in which the patient is more aware of his suffering than tetanus.
NO DELIRIUM
"Many diseases, particularly those involving fever, will cloud the mind and the patient may become delirious," said Dr. Faust. "But there is no delirium associated with lockjaw. Tetanus seems to stimulate the minds of the tetanus patient and make him more aware of the intensity of his fuf-fering. He can't breathe properly. He can't swallow. He can't even open his mouth. He's in a steady