Tetanus antibody titers and duration of immunity to clinical tetanus infections in free-ranging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Tetanus was first described in the rhesus monkeys (Macaca multta) of Cayo Santiago, and a sample collected in 2004 of the original cohort of monkeys immunized in 1985 and 1986 showed that 14 out of 15 (93.3%) had protective tetanus antibody tilters at the ages of 20-23 years. Two intramuscular doses of tetanus toxoid provided long-term, if not life-long, protection against tetanus for rhesus monkeys, living in a tropical climate where tetanus was enzootic and the risk of infection was great.