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Neonatal tetanus in Nigeria: does it still pose a major threat to neonatal survival?
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor R S Oruamabo
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, PO Box 126, Choba, Port Harcourt 500001, Nigeria; raphael_oruamabo@hotmail.com
Accepted 21 August 2006
Abbreviations: NNT, neonatal tetanus; TBA, traditional birth attendant
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Of the 130 million babies born annually globally, 4 million (3.1%) die within the first 4 weeks of life.1 In Nigeria, of the 5 million babies born annually, 240 000 (4.8%) die within the first 4 weeks of life.2 Globally, tetanus accounts for 7% of these neonatal deaths, but accounts for up to 20% in Nigeria, one of 27 countries that account for 90% of the global burden of the disease.1,3–8 At the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, a tertiary hospital located in the capital of Rivers State, one of the oil-producing states of Nigeria, 30–50 patients with neonatal tetanus (NNT) are admitted annually; most of them are full-term normal-sized babies.9–11
This review highlights some of the reasons for the persistently high incidence of NNT in Nigeria and examines options for reduction within the context of Millennium Development Goal 4—that is, reduction in child mortality by
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