HPIC at Work

Tetanus vaccines expedited to Haiti

A special shipment of 5,000 doses of tetanus vaccine from Health Partners International of Canada has made its way to Port-au-Prince thanks to GlaxoSmithKline and Air Canada.

"These vaccines will treat 5,000 Haitians wounded during the earthquake and its aftermath, protecting people from immense suffering or death," says John Clayton of Samaritan's Purse Canada, which will be vaccinating patients at the Baptist Haiti Mission Hospital south of Port-au-Prince. "The need is great and it is a relief to know that help is on its way."

Tetanus is an infection caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani, a cousin of the bacteria that cause gangrene and botulism. Muscles contract leading to rigidity and spasms and sufferers can experience painful whole-body spasms. They may be unable to speak or eat and have difficulty breathing.

"Tetanus is endemic to Haiti and there are increasingly more reported cases," says Brent Davis of Samaritan's Purse. Some Haitians are not vaccinated at all and most of the population has not kept up to date with booster shots, leaving them vulnerable to a terrible disease that has a high mortality rate.

The vaccines will be accompanied by HPIC's Helen Crawley who will be flying to Haiti courtesy of Air Canada to ensure that the vaccines get to Samaritan's Purse representatives.

Samaritan's Purse staff will be vaccinating 100-500 patients a day.