Travellers who have not had a booster in the last 10 years should consider one before departure. It is also important to make sure the initial course of vaccine has been completed.
Vaccination is mostly given in the form of dTpa (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis). Pertussis is another name for whooping cough. Often individuals aren’t aware they have had a tetanus booster when vaccinated for whooping cough. This often occurs when a close contact of a newborn baby (father, grandparents, close friends) is recommended to have the vaccine. The mother is usually given a booster dose in the third trimester. This is funded under the NIP (National Immunisation Program).
School-based vaccine programs for diphtheria first started in the 1930’s. In the 1940s, Tetanus toxoid vaccines were used to vaccinate the Armed Forces. The first triple antigen vaccine included a whole cell pertussis vaccine together with Tetanus and Diphtheria. This was later replaced with an acellular pertussis component, and this has been our main triple antigen for the past 30 years. To be fully vaccinated, it is recommended that children receive four doses in childhood with an adolescent booster.
Fourteen cases of tetanus were notified in Australia between 2016 and 2018. It is hard to determine the number of deaths globally, but an estimated 56,000 deaths were reported in 2015 with about a third being newborns.
The triple antigen includes Diphtheria. Diphtheria is very rare in Australia but does occur overseas. Both Nigeria and Guinea have reported outbreaks in 2023. The Nigeria outbreak has killed over 600 individuals in the last year, mostly children. It probably reflects the COVID-19 impact on global vaccination programs.
