Ethics-Governance: Article: eMJA: Childhood tetanus in Australia: ethical issues for a should-be-forgotten preventable disease

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Article - Abstract. To view full article click on the article title.
eMJA: Childhood tetanus in Australia: ethical issues for a should-be-forgotten preventable disease Refusal of a parent to have a child vaccinated against tetanus raised ethical issues for the treating clinicians. The clinicians felt their duty to the child was compromised, but recognised that our society leaves the authority for such decisions with the parents. As there was no reason, other than different beliefs about vaccination, to doubt the parent's care for the child, the clinicians limited their response to providing strong recommendations in favour of vaccination. Other issues raised by this case include community protection, and the costs to the community of treating a vaccine-preventable disease. In unvaccinated individuals, tetanus remains a constant threat. In developing countries, neonatal tetanus is common because of unhygienic practices, particularly with regard to care of the umbilical cord stump.1-3 Such cases usually occur in children born to unvaccinated mothers who have no antibodies to confer protection on their infants. Full Article: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/178_04_170203/gol10299_fm.html


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