An unvaccinated adolescent in the Transnistrian region has contracted tetanus in what the local press reports is the first such case in the last 30 years.

The teenage boy apparently got the life-threatening bacterial infection through a cut. Cleaning the wound didn’t help. On admission to hospital, “he had spasms of his jaw, neck and back muscles. His respiratory center was also affected, which could have caused asphyxia or even a heart attack”, Emilia Teișanu, head of the Tiraspol Hospital’s infectious disease department, was quoted by Novostipmr as saying.

The patient is now in intensive care and his condition is deemed stable.

The best way to prevent the disease is to get a shot, which is free in the Transnistrian region as well.

The National Public Health Agency has told sanatateinfo.md this is the third case reported in Moldova in the last ten years. The two previous cases were fatal.

Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection characterized by muscle spasms. Each spasm usually lasts a few minutes and they may be severe enough to cause bone fractures. Other symptoms may include fever, sweating, headache, trouble swallowing, high blood pressure, and a fast heart rate. Recovery may take months. About ten percent of cases prove fatal.