> All you need to do is get a deep cut. Step on a nail, piece of glass, something like that. All it really takes is a pinprick or a scratch, but the deeper the cut, the higher the likelihood. The tetanus bacteria is found in soil/dust/etc worldwide. That's why any time you (or at least *I*) go to the hospital with a cut (or know someone who has), they ask when your most recent tetanus shot was. Because that's all it takes to get it.
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> The Other Matthew

So I wonder where we can get some stats on how many people get it in an average year? I've never heard of one. Back in the 30's, when they called it "lockjaw" we heard a lot of talk about it, but even then, I never heard of anybody getting it.

I don't remember any cases of typhoid fever either, but my grandfather got it about 1899. He recovered. I know that is spread by poor sanitation, and many years ago, I lived in areas with really bad sanitation. I still never saw any.
Howard