Tetanus Surveillance and Trends

Key points

• CDC tracks tetanus cases using a national surveillance system.
• Tetanus cases are rare in the United States and have decreased significantly since the late 1940s.
• Learn where tetanus data come from and explore data visualizations.

National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System

Tetanus is a nationally notifiable disease. See the tetanus case definition.

Health departments report cases of tetanus to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). CDC collects national information about tetanus through NNDSS.

For EveryoneAbout National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)

Disease burden

In the United States, sporadic cases of tetanus continue to occur. Since 2010, there have been fewer than 40 reported cases each year. Most cases are in people who either

• Never received a tetanus vaccine
• Didn’t complete the tetanus primary vaccine series
• Didn't stay up to date with their 10-year booster shots

Disease trends

Early 1900s: Reported cases and deaths from tetanus started to decline. In part due to the development and use of tetanus immune globulin (TIG).

1940s: Tetanus toxoid-containing vaccines became part of routine U.S. childhood vaccination. Tetanus became a nationally notifiable disease.

Since 1947 reported tetanus cases have declined more than 95%. Reported deaths from tetanus have declined more than 99%.

Routine vaccination and continued use of TIG and tetanus vaccination for wound management played a role in the decline of cases and deaths.

Explore the data

Use the figure below to see reported U.S. tetanus case counts from NNDSS since 1947. To zoom in on a select range of years, slide the bar beneath the figure. The case counts for years highlighted in the grey vertical bar are provisional. You can also view the data in table format by clicking on "Data Table" beneath the figure.

Data reporting

View NNDSS infectious disease data tables.

Case definition

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) published the most recent case definition for tetanus in 2010.

General

Tetanus chapter of the Manual for Surveillance of Vaccine-preventable Diseases

Tetanus Surveillance Summary — United States, 2009–2023 (MMWR)

Neonatal and maternal tetanus globally

Fast facts: Global tetanus

What CDC is doing in global tetanus vaccination

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