Indonesia: people in quake zone suffer from tetanus;18 dead

Indonesia: people in quake zone suffer from tetanus;18 dead

Last month's 6.3-magnitude quake south of the central Javanese city of Yogyakarta killed more than 5,800 people and injured 36,000, many with open fractures or cuts.

Tetanus usually starts from a contaminated cut or deep puncture wound. It is fatal in more than 30 percent of cases, with even higher rates in the developing world.

Officials have said many patients' wounds were not properly cleaned or stitched up in the chaos that enveloped hospitals following the quake, allowing the infection to spread, the AP reports.