[Mortality from tetanus in children less than 1 year of age, Mexico, 1970-1982].

The results of a study about mortality by tetanus in Mexican children under one year of age, during the 1970-1982 period, are reported. This age-group was subdivided in three, as follows: perinatal (less than 7 days), neonatal (less than 29 days) and postneonatal (29 to 364 days). Mortality by tetanus in children under one year of age showed a decreasing trend during the mentioned period, and this was most pronounced from 1979, because of changes in the codification of mortality by tetanus in this group of age. On the other hand, it was found that the greatest proportion of deaths by tetanus happened in the under one year of age group, and particularly in the neonatal group (less than 29 days). The geographic distribution of tetanus in Mexico was studied later, and showed a predominant incidence of the disease in coastal states of the country; an additional finding in this investigation was the displacement of the disease from the Pacific strip to the Gulf of Mexico. Finally, the mortality differentials by sex were studied, and showed that males were the most affected in the three age groups. We cannot explain this finding at the time.