>>> Interesting that the tetnus recommendation has changed in the US. It >>> has gone the other way in the UK and Canada. If you have had 4 shots in >>> your life you are considered to be covered for ever. Since you get >>> several when you are young that pretty much covers it here.
This is a link from the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) website: http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/696_tet.html I consider them a very credible source. Note these quotes: " Some individuals may be protected for life against tetanus after a properly administered primary series of vaccinations, but in most people antitoxin levels fall with time...In some individuals, antibody levels may fall too low to provide protection before 10 years have passed. That's why people who sustain a deep or contaminated wound should receive a booster dose if it has been more than five years since the last dose." My doctor says we are considered at higher than normal risk since we regularly clean stalls, brush horses who have rolled in poop, etc. Karen Thomas, NC
