8o 
HOUSEHOLD BACTERIOLOGY 
Lockjaw 
they should be kept wet, then the germs cannot easily 
be spread about except by flies. 
An exception to the usual characteristics of disease 
producing germs is a bacillus which is common in the 
soil of certain localities,—the germ of the usually 
fatal disease known as tetanus or lockjaw. Fig. 43. 
The living germ or its spore is carried into the warm, 
moist tissues through a wound in the skin. This us¬ 
ually is made with some sharp object which has come 
in contact with the ground, as a nail, a rake tooth, 
a pitch-fork, or a dirty knife. 
It has been known to follow 
the bite of an insect. Unlike 
most disease germs, this bac¬ 
terium forms spores which 
makes it very tenacious of life. 
Its spores will resist boiling or 
drying for some time. It is 
said to have been found in gun¬ 
powder which would account 
for the many cases of lock¬ 
jaw resulting from gunshot 
wounds. As a result of celebrating the Fourth of July 
in 1903, 415 deaths from lockjaw occurred in the 
United States. This number dropped in 1904 to 105, in 
1905 to 104, and in 1906 to 89. This decrease was 
brought about through the proper care of wounds and 
the use of tetanus antitoxine. Wounds should be 
cleaned thoroughly and not bound up tightly, as the 
FIG. 43. The Bacillus 
of Lockjaw. 
