Unvaccinated Oregon boy racks up nearly $1 million in medical costs after tetanus diagnosis

March 09-- Mar. 9--A unvaccinated Oregon boy diagnosed with state's first case of tetanus in almost 30 years spent 57 days in the hospital -- most of them in the intensive care unit -- at a cost of nearly $1 million, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control.

The 6-year-old boy became infected in 2017 after he cut open his head while playing outside on a farm. His family cleaned out and stitched up the wound at home and all seemed fine until about six days later.

"He had episodes of crying, jaw clenching and involuntary upper extremity muscle spasms, followed by the arching of the neck and back and generalized spasticity. Later that day, at the onset of breathing difficulty, the parents contacted emergency services, who air-transported him directly to a tertiary pediatric medical center," according to the report, written for the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality weekly update.

The boy was alert when he arrived and requested water, but he was unable to open his mouth and required intubation and ventilation.

Doctors diagnosed him with tetanus -- which is caused by a bacteria that enters the body when skin breaks -- and given a tetanus immune globulin as well as the diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. The boy was treated in a darkened room with ear plugs as "stimulation increased the intensity of his spasms."

He required 57 days of inpatient care, 47 of which were spent in the intensive care unit. The young patient was then transferred to a rehabilitation center for 17 days.

About a month later, he was back to himself.

In total his medicals bills cost $811,929 -- "excluding air transportation, inpatient rehabilitation and ambulatory follow-up costs," the report noted.

According to the CDC the use of tetanus vaccines and tetanus immune globulin has sparked 95% decrease in cases around the world and a 99% decrease in tetanus-related deaths.

Doctors recommend children received the DTaP vaccine at ages 2 months, 4 months 15-18 months and then again between 4 and 6 years of age. Adults meanwhile, should receive the tetanus and diphtheria booster every 10 years.

"Despite the extensive review of risks and benefits of tetanus vaccinations by physicians, the family declined the second dose of DTaP and any other recommended immunizations," according to the report.

The Centers for Disease Control report, penned by members of the Oregon Health and Science University Department of Pediatrics and the Oregon Health Authority's Public Health Division, comes on the heels of a large measles outbreak in Clark County, Washington -- located along the state's border with Oregon.

According to the local public health department, 61 of those 70 cases were in non-immunized patients.

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