A 17-year-old minor from the Bages region remains admitted to the ICU of Sant Joan de Déu hospital in Manresa in very serious condition due to tetanus, as confirmed by the Department of Health. The case has reopened the health focus on child and adolescent vaccination in Catalonia.
The teenager developed the illness after the injuries suffered in a fall. Furthermore, the case once again brings to the forefront families who reject vaccination, an area in which Salut assures it has located a relevant part of the coverage problems.
A serious case of a rare disease
Tetanus is not transmitted from person to person. It is caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium tetani, habitually present in soil, dust, and animal feces. Infection can occur when this bacterium enters the body through wounds.
The vaccination schedule in Spain sets the first dose against tetanus at 2 months, the second at 4 months, and the third at 6 months. Afterwards, booster doses are administered at 18 months, at 6 years, and at 14 years. In adulthood, a booster is recommended every 10 years since the last dose.
Salut puts the focus on anti-vaccine families
The Ministry of Health has placed the debate on groups that reject vaccination. The Secretary of Public Health, Esteve Fernández, has warned that there are people who should be vaccinated and are not and identified that group as anti-vaccine families.
"They should be vaccinated and they are not" - Esteve Fernández, Secretary of Public Health
"Here is where we have most of the cases in adolescents" - Esteve Fernández, secretary of Public Health
Fernández has also pointed out that there are vulnerable areas with insufficient vaccination coverage, although not only in areas with more social difficulties, since that situation is also detected in other primary care teams with high socioeconomic levels.
Added concern over the increase in measles
The tetanus case coincides with a measles resurgence in Catalonia. Salut has reported that diagnoses increased by 135% in 2025 compared to 2024. It went from 34 cases in 2024 to 80 in 2025. Across Spain, 397 infections were registered and the WHO has withdrawn the country's status as a measles-free territory.
Catalonia is the second autonomous community with the most notified measles infections. Given that scenario, the Ministry has intensified prevention campaigns and maintains a constant review of vaccination rates of all primary care teams to locate the areas with the lowest coverages.
The admission of the minor in Manresa once again puts on the table the impact of vaccine-preventable diseases, at a time when Salut tries to reinforce immunization and to contain the pocket of unvaccinated population, especially among children and adolescents.