Under normal circumstances, county health officials would have thousands of doses of the Td vaccine, which protects against both tetanus and diphtheria. There are fewer than 400 doses remaining in the stockpile, said Suzann Chesebrough, public health nursing supervisor for the health district. Because Clark County's supply is critically low, only people with wounds are being given the vaccine to protect against tetanus, Chesebrough said. Tetanus is a potentially fatal disease transmitted by bacteria, often through dirty wounds.
Diphtheria is a respiratory illness that spreads through the bloodstream and attacks the organs.
Although diphtheria cases are rare in the United States, the disease is more common in underdeveloped areas. An outbreak of more than 150,000 cases of the disease in southern Russia and neighboring countries since 1990 was blamed on a lack of vaccinations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta first began warning of the potential shortage in December. The leading manufacturer of the vaccine, Aventis Pasteur, fell behind in production after maintenance work at the company's facilities took longer than expected. The CDC has recommended that health officials nationwide use the vaccine only to treat people with wounds and to prepare travelers headed to areas in which there is a high risk of diphtheria.