According to the WHO, India has eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus – a swift and painful killer disease that killed 49,000 newborns in 2013 alone.
the World Health Organisation (WHO) has validated that in India, it has been reduced to less than one case per 1000 live births across the country. WHO has now added India to the list of countries that have successfully battled the disease.
What did WHO say?
This is a huge achievement for India which until a few decades ago reported 150,000 to 200,000 neonatal tetanus cases annually
– Poonam Khetrapal Singh
(WHO regional director for South-East Asia)
What did the PM say?
India has eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus. The validation for this has happened much before the global target date of December 2015.This gives us the confidence to achieve other targets well before the target date.
– Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister of India
What is Maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT)?
- Maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) is a swift and painful killer disease that killed 49,000 newborns in 2013 alone.
- A significant number of women also die to due to maternal tetanus every year.
- Neonatal tetanus is a form of generalized tetanus that occurs in newborns.
- Infants who have not acquired passive immunity because the mother has never been immunised are at risk.
- It usually occurs through infection of the unhealed umbilical stump, particularly when the stump is cut with a non-sterile instrument.
- Neonatal tetanus mostly occurs in developing countries, particularly those with the least developed health infrastructure.
- It is rare in developed countries.
