Clostridium tetani?

Question

What lab methods are used when testing a patient for Clostridium tetani which causes tetanus? Is it culture,ELISA, EIA, PCR, or others? What website can I find that information on?

Answer 1

Good question! I haven't found an answer to it. Basically C. tetani has to be cultured under anaerobic conditions. Failure to culture it shouldn't rule out the diagnosis.

The diagnosis remains clinical, dependent on the patient's signs and symptoms, just as it did 35 years ago when I did a short stint in the tropics. Here in the US where tetanus is rare, one must rule out hypocalcemic tetany, phenothiazine reaction, strychnine poisoning, and hysteria.

Books on tropical medicine tell you that tetanus should never be confused with rabies, but I gotta tell you, when you're out in the bush and the cellophane is still on your diploma, you sometimes sweat that dilemma.

Answer 2

Clostridium tetani is a rod-shaped, anaerobic bacterium of the genus Clostridium. Like other Clostridium species, it is Gram-positive, and its appearance on a gram stain resembles tennis rackets or drumsticks. C. tetani is found as spores in soil or as parasites in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. C. tetani produces a potent biological toxin, tetanospasmin, and is the causative agent of tetanus. C. tetani is a rod-shaped, obligate anaerobe which stains Gram positive in fresh cultures; established cultures may stain Gram negative. During vegetative growth, the organism cannot survive in the presence of oxygen, is sensitive to heat and has flagella which provide limited motility. As the organism matures, it develops a terminal spore, which gives the organism its characteristic appearance. C. tetani spores are extremely hardy, and are resistant to heat and most antiseptics.The spores are distributed widely in manure-treated soils, and can also be found on human skin and in contaminated heroin.