The spores which cause tetanus are present everywhere, so the only prevention is immunization. Three properly spaced doses of tetanus toxoid vaccine are recommended for women of childbearing age, either before or during pregnancy; this will protect their future babies from neonatal tetanus after delivery.

In 2000 neonatal tetanus was responsible for about 14% (215,000) of all neonatal deaths. In 2008 59,000 newborns worldwide died as a result of neonatal tetanus. In 2005, 57 countries were identified as still at risk, with 27 countries accounting for 90% of cases. As of December 2013 the number of countries at risk was reduced to 25.

Unlike many infectious diseases, recovery from naturally acquired tetanus does not usually result in immunity to tetanus. This is due to the extreme potency of the tetanospasmin toxin. Tetanospasmin will likely be lethal before it will provoke an immune response.

Tetanus can be prevented by vaccination with tetanus toxoid. The CDC recommends that adults receive a booster vaccine every ten years, and standard care practice in many places is to give the booster to any patient with a puncture wound who is uncertain of when he or she was last vaccinated, or if he or she has had fewer than three lifetime doses of the vaccine. The booster may not prevent a potentially fatal case of tetanus from the current wound, however, as it can take up to two weeks for tetanus antibodies to form.

In children under the age of seven, the tetanus vaccine is often administered as a combined vaccine, DPT/DTaP vaccine, which also includes vaccines against diphtheria and pertussis. For adults and children over seven, the Td vaccine (tetanus and diphtheria) or Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis) is commonly used.

The World Health Organization certifies countries as having eliminated maternal or neonatal tetanus. Certification requires at least two years of rates of less than 1 case per 1000 live births. In 1998 in Uganda, 3,433 tetanus cases were recorded in newborn babies; of these, 2,403 died. After a major public health effort, Uganda in 2011 was certified as having eliminated tetanus.

Tetanus toxoid can be given in case of a suspected exposure to tetanus. In such cases, it can be given with or without tetanus immunoglobulin (also called "tetanus antibodies" or "tetanus antitoxin"). It can be given as intravenous therapy or by intramuscular injection.

The guidelines for such events in the United States for non-pregnant people 11 years and older are as follows:

Early onset sepsis can occur in the first week of life. It usually is apparent on the first day after birth. This type of infection is usually acquired before the birth of the infant. Premature rupture of membranes and other obstetrical complications can add to the risk of early-onset sepsis. If the amniotic membrane has been ruptured greater than 18 hours before delivery the infant may be at more risk for this complication. Prematurity, low birth weight, chorioamnionitis, maternal urinary tract infection and/or maternal fever are complications that increase the risk for early-onset sepsis. Early onset sepsis is indicated by serious respiratory symptoms. The infant usually suffers from pneumonia, hypothermia, or shock. The mortality rate is 30 to 50%.

Late-onset meningitis is most likely infection from the community. Late onset meningitis may be caused by other Gram-negative bacteria and "staphylococcal" species. In developing countries "Streptococcus pneumoniae" accounts for most cases of late onset.

Infections that occur after the first week of life but before the age of 30 days are considered late onset infections. Obstetrical and maternal complications are not typically the cause of these late onset infections; they are usually acquired by the infant in the hospital neonatal intensive care unit. The widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in the nursery intensive care unit can cause a higher prevalence of invasive antibiotic resistant bacteria. Meconium aspiration syndrome has a mortality rate just over 4%. This accounts for 2% for all neonatal deaths.

In early-onset neonatal meningitis, acquisition of the bacteria is from the mother before the baby is born or during birth. The most common bacteria found in early-onset are group B "Streptococcus" (GBS), "Escherichia coli", and "Listeria monocytogenes". In developing countries, Gram-negative enteric (gut) bacteria are responsible for the majority of early onset meningitis.

The live attenuated BCG vaccine developed against tuberculosis has been shown to have strong beneficial effects on the ability to combat non-tuberculosis infections.

Several studies have suggested that BCG vaccination may reduce atopy, particularly when given early in life. Furthermore, in multiple observational studies BCG vaccination has been shown to provide beneficial effects on overall mortality. These observations encouraged randomised controlled trials to examine BCG vaccination's beneficial non-specific effects on overall health. Since BCG vaccination is recommended to be given at birth in countries that have a high incidence of tuberculosis it would have been unethical to randomize children into 'BCG' vs. 'no BCG' groups. However, many low-income countries delay BCG vaccination for low-birth-weight (LBW) infants; this offered the opportunity to directly test the effect of BCG on overall mortality.

In the first two randomised controlled trials receipt of BCG+OPV at birth vs. OPV only ('delayed BCG') was associated with strong reductions in neonatal mortality; these effects were seen as early as 3 days after vaccination. BCG protected against sepsis as well as respiratory infections.

Among BCG vaccinated children, those who develop a BCG scar or a positive skin test (TST) are less likely to develop sepsis and exhibit an overall reduction in child mortality of around 50%.

In a recent WHO-commissioned review based on five clinical trials and nine observational studies, it was concluded that "the results indicated a beneficial effect of BCG on overall mortality in the first 6–12 months of life. Relevant follow-up in some of the trials was short, and all of the observational studies were regarded as being at risk of bias, so the confidence in the findings was rated as very low according to the GRADE criteria and "There was a suggestion that BCG vaccination may be more beneficial the earlier it is given". Furthermore, "estimated effects are in the region of a halving of mortality risk" and "any effect of BCG vaccine on all-cause mortality is not likely to be attributable to any great extent to fewer deaths from tuberculosis (i.e. to a specific effect of BCG vaccine against tuberculosis)". Based on the evidence, the WHO's Strategic Group of Experts on Immunization concluded that "the non-specific effects on all-cause mortality warrant further research".

Standard titer measles vaccine is recommended at 9 months of age in low-income countries where measles infection is endemic and often fatal. Many observational studies have shown that measles-vaccinated children have substantially lower mortality than can be explained by the prevention of measles-related deaths. Many of these observational studies were natural experiments, such as studies comparing the mortality before and after the introduction of measles vaccine and other studies where logistical factors rather than maternal choice determined whether a child was vaccinated or not.

These findings were later supported in randomized trials from 2003 to 2009 in Guinea-Bissau. An intervention group of children given standard titer measles vaccine at 4.5 and 9 month of age had a 30% reduction in all-cause mortality compared to the children in the control group, which were only vaccinated against measles at 9 month of age.

In a recent WHO-commissioned review based on four randomized trials and 18 observational studies, it was concluded that "There was consistent evidence of a beneficial effect of measles vaccine, although all observational studies were assessed as being at risk of bias and the GRADE rating was of low confidence. There was an apparent difference between the effect in girls and boys, with girls benefitting more from measles vaccination", and furthermore "estimated effects are in the region of a halving of mortality risk" and "if these effects are real then they are not fully explained by deaths that were established as due to measles". Based on the evidence, the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization concluded that "the non-specific effects on all-cause mortality warrant further research".

In 2012, the World Health Organization estimated that vaccination prevents 2.5 million deaths each year. If there is 100% immunization, and 100% efficacy of the vaccines, one out of seven deaths among young children could be prevented, mostly in developing countries, making this an important global health issue. Four diseases were responsible for 98% of vaccine-preventable deaths: measles, "Haemophilus influenzae" serotype b, pertussis, and neonatal tetanus.

The Immunization Surveillance, Assessment and Monitoring program of the WHO monitors and assesses the safety and effectiveness of programs and vaccines at reducing illness and deaths from diseases that could be prevented by vaccines.

Vaccine-preventable deaths are usually caused by a failure to obtain the vaccine in a timely manner. This may be due to financial constraints or to lack of access to the vaccine. A vaccine that is generally recommended may be medically inappropriate for a small number of people due to severe allergies or a damaged immune system. In addition, a vaccine against a given disease may not be recommended for general use in a given country, or may be recommended only to certain populations, such as young children or older adults. Every country makes its own vaccination recommendations, based on the diseases that are common in its area and its healthcare priorities. If a vaccine-preventable disease is uncommon in a country, then residents of that country are unlikely to receive a vaccine against it. For example, residents of Canada and the United States do not routinely receive vaccines against yellow fever, which leaves them vulnerable to infection if travelling to areas where risk of yellow fever is highest (endemic or transitional regions).

Human-to-human transmission of diphtheria typically occurs through the air when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. Breathing in particles released from the infected individual leads to infection Contact with any lesions on the skin can also lead to transmission of diphtheria, but this is uncommon. Indirect infections can occur, as well. If an infected individual touches a surface or object, the bacteria can be left behind and remain viable. Also, some evidence indicates diphtheria has the potential to be zoonotic, but this has yet to be confirmed. "Corynebacterium ulcerans" has been found in some animals, which would suggest zoonotic potential

Diphtheria is fatal in between 5% and 10% of cases. In children under five years and adults over 40 years, the fatality rate may be as much as 20%. In 2013, it resulted in 3,300 deaths, down from 8,000 deaths in 1990.

The number of cases has changed over the course of the last 2 decades, specifically throughout developing countries. Better standards of living, mass immunization, improved diagnosis, prompt treatment, and more effective health care have led to the decrease in cases worldwide. However, although outbreaks are rare, they still occur worldwide, especially in developed nations such as Germany among unvaccinated children, and Canada. After the breakup of the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s, vaccination rates in its constituent countries fell so low that an explosion of diphtheria cases occurred. In 1991, 2,000 cases of diphtheria occurred in the USSR. Because of this outbreak, since 1992, many of the cases reported throughout other parts of Europe have been linked to the NIS epidemic. Belgium (3/3) and Finland (10/10) come in first, stating that 100% of cases are connected to this epidemic. However, locations such as Poland and Germany have had a larger number of people diagnosed with Diphtheria overall, but claim that a smaller percentage have been linked directly to the NIS. By 1998 as many as 200,000 cases in the Commonwealth of Independent States were reported, with 5,000 deaths.

A "vaccine-preventable disease" is an infectious disease for which an effective preventive vaccine exists. If a person acquires a vaccine-preventable disease and dies from it, the death is considered a vaccine-preventable death.

The most common and serious vaccine-preventable diseases tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO) are: diphtheria, "Haemophilus influenzae" serotype b infection, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, poliomyelitis, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever. The WHO reports licensed vaccines being available to prevent, or contribute to the prevention and control of, 25 vaccine-preventable infections.

A study performed at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, showed that infants ≤ 60 days old meeting the following criteria were at low-risk for having a serious bacterial illness:

- generally well-appearing

- previously healthy

- full term (at ≥37 weeks gestation)

- no antibiotics perinatally

- no unexplained hyperbilirubinemia that required treatment

- no antibiotics since discharge

- no hospitalizations

- no chronic illness

- discharged at the same time or before the mother

- no evidence of skin, soft tissue, bone, joint, or ear infection

- White blood cells (WBCs) count 5,000-15,000/mm

- absolute band count ≤ 1,500/mm

- urine WBC count ≤ 10 per high power field (hpf)

- stool WBC count ≤ 5 per high power field (hpf) "only in infants with diarrhea"

Those meeting these criteria likely do not require a lumbar puncture, and are felt to be safe for discharge home without antibiotic treatment, or with a single dose of intramuscular antibiotics, but will still require close outpatient follow-up.

One risk for Group B streptococcal infection (GBS) is Preterm rupture of membranes. Screening women for GBS (via vaginal and rectal swabbing) and treating culture positive women with intrapartum chemoprophylaxis is reducing the number of neonatal sepsis caused by GBS.

This depends on the age of the animal affected and the efficiency of its immune system.

Colostral protection lasts up to 5 months of age, after which it decreases to an all-time low to increase yet again at about 12 months of age.

- Prenatal infection: virus travels from infected mother to fetus via the placenta. In this case, the time of gestation determines the result of the infection.

- If the fetus is infected in the first 30 days of fetal life, death and absorption of all, or some of the fetuses may occur. In this case, some immunotolerant healthy piglets may be born.

- If the infection happens at 40 days, death and mummification may occur. Also in this case, some or all the fetuses are involved, i.e. some of the fetuses can be born healthy and immunotolerant, or else carriers of the disease.

- If the viruses crosses the placenta in the last trimester, neonatal death may occur, or the birth of healthy piglets with a protective pre-colostral immunity.

- Postnatal infection (pigs up to 1 year of age): Infection occurs oro-nasally, followed by a viremic period associated with transitory leucopenia.

- Infection in adults (over 1 year of age): These subject would have an active, protective immune system which protects them from future exposures (e.g. mating with an infected male).

Therefore, it is important to note that the virus is particularly dangerous for the sow in her first gestation, which would be at 7–8 months of age, as she would have a particularly low antibody count at this age and could easily contract the virus via copulation.

This condition most commonly occurs after the administration of a horse origin biological agent such as equine-derived antiserum, and usually occurs 4–10 weeks after the event. Diseases that have been vaccinated against using equine-origin antiserum, resulting in subsequent Theiler's disease, include: African horse sickness, Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis, "Bacillus anthracis", tetanus antitoxin, "Clostridium perfringens", "Clostridium botulinum", "Streptococcus equi" subspecies "equi", Equine influenza, Equine herpesvirus type 1, pregnant mare's serum, and plasma. Although it occurs sporadically, It appears to be spreadable within a premises, and there have been outbreaks occurring on farms involving multiple horses over several months. In the Northern hemisphere it is most common between August to November. It is seen almost exclusively in adult horses, and lactating broodmares given tetanus antitoxin post foaling may be more susceptible.

This depends on the degree of hepatocellular necrosis that has occurred. Decreases in the SDH and prothrombin time along with improvement in appetite are the best positive predictive indicators of recovery. GGT may remain elevated for weeks even if the horse is recovering. Horses that survive for greater than one week and that continue to eat usually recover. Cases with rapid progression of clinical signs, uncontrollable encephalopathy, haemorrhage or haemolysis have a poor prognosis. Horses that display clinical signs have a mortality rate of 50–90%.

Most strains of "H. influenzae" are opportunistic pathogens; that is, they usually live in their host without causing disease, but cause problems only when other factors (such as a viral infection, reduced immune function or chronically inflamed tissues, e.g. from allergies) create an opportunity. They infect the host by sticking to the host cell using trimeric autotransporter adhesins.

Naturally acquired disease caused by "H. influenzae" seems to occur in humans only. In infants and young children, "H. influenzae" type b (Hib) causes bacteremia, pneumonia, epiglottitis and acute bacterial meningitis. On occasion, it causes cellulitis, osteomyelitis, and infectious arthritis. It is one cause of neonatal infection.

Due to routine use of the Hib conjugate vaccine in the U.S. since 1990, the incidence of invasive Hib disease has decreased to 1.3/100,000 in children. However, Hib remains a major cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children in developing countries where the vaccine is not widely used. Unencapsulated "H. influenzae" strains are unaffected by the Hib vaccine and cause ear infections (otitis media), eye infections (conjunctivitis), and sinusitis in children, and are associated with pneumonia.

The serious complications of HiB are brain damage, hearing loss, and even death.

SMEDI (an acronym of stillbirth, mummification, embryonic death, and infertility) is a reproductive disease of swine caused by "Porcine parvovirus" ("PPV") and "Porcine enterovirus". The term SMEDI usually indicates "Porcine enterovirus", but it also can indicate "Porcine parvovirus", which is a more important cause of the syndrome. SMEDI also causes abortion, neonatal death, and decreased male fertility.

From an economic standpoint SMEDI is an important disease because of the loss of productivity from fetal death in affected herds. Initial infection of a herd causes the greatest effect, but losses slow over time. The disease is spread most commonly by ingestion of food and water contaminated with infected feces and occasionally through sexual contact and contact with aborted tissue. A vaccine is available (ATCvet code: ).

Doxycycline is the drug of choice, but azithromycin is also used as a five-day course rather than a single dose that would be used to treat "Chlamydia" infection; streptomycin is an alternative, but is less popular because it must be injected. Penicillins are ineffective — "U. urealyticum" does not have a cell wall, which is the drug's main target.

Infection in the newborn is accompanied by a strong immune response and is correlated with the need for prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Infection with "U. urealyticum" in pregnancy and birth can be complicated by chorioamnionitis, stillbirth, premature birth, and, in the perinatal period, pneumonia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and meningitis. "U. urealyticum" has been found to be present in amniotic fluid in women who have had a premature birth with intact fetal membranes.

"U. urealyticum" has been noted as one of the infectious causes of sterile pyuria. It increases the morbidity as a cause of neonatal infections. It is associated with premature birth, preterm rupture of membranes, preterm labor, cesarean section, placental inflammation, congenital pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, fetal lung injury and death of infant. "Ureaplasma urealyticum" is associated with miscarriage.

Note that, in neonates, sepsis is difficult to diagnose clinically. They may be relatively asymptomatic until hemodynamic and respiratory collapse is imminent, so, if there is even a remote suspicion of sepsis, they are frequently treated with antibiotics empirically until cultures are sufficiently proven to be negative. In addition to fluid resuscitation and supportive care, a common antibiotic regimen in infants with suspected sepsis is a beta-lactam antibiotic (usually ampicillin) in combination with an aminoglycoside (usually gentamicin) or a third-generation cephalosporin (usually cefotaxime—ceftriaxone is generally avoided in neonates due to the theoretical risk of kernicterus.) The organisms which are targeted are species that predominate in the female genitourinary tract and to which neonates are especially vulnerable to, specifically Group B Streptococcus, "Escherichia coli", and "Listeria monocytogenes" (This is the main rationale for using ampicillin versus other beta-lactams.) Of course, neonates are also vulnerable to other common pathogens that can cause meningitis and bacteremia such as "Streptococcus pneumoniae" and "Neisseria meningitidis". Although uncommon, if anaerobic species are suspected (such as in cases where necrotizing enterocolitis or intestinal perforation is a concern, clindamycin is often added.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is sometimes used in neonatal sepsis. However, a 2009 study found that GM-CSF corrects neutropenia if present but it has no effect on reducing sepsis or improving survival.

Trials of probiotics for prevention of neonatal sepsis have generally been too small and statistically underpowered to detect any benefit, but a randomized controlled trial that enrolled 4,556 neonates in India reported that probiotics significantly reduced the risk of developing sepsis. The probiotic used in the trial was "Lactobacillus plantarum".

A very large meta-analysis investigated the effect of probiotics on preventing late-onset sepsis (LOS) in neonates. Probiotics were found to reduce the risk of LOS, but only in babies who were fed human milk exclusively. It is difficult to distinguish if the prevention was a result of the probiotic supplementation or if it was a result of the properties of human milk. It is also still unclear if probiotic administration reduces LOS risk in extremely low birth weight infants due to the limited number of studies that investigated it. Out of the 37 studies included in this systematic review, none indicated any safety problems related to the probiotics. It would be beneficial to clarify the relationship between probiotic supplementation and human milk for future studies in order to prevent late onset sepsis in neonates.

Neonatal HSV rates in the U.S. are estimated to be between 1 in 3,000 and 1 in 20,000 live births. Approximately 22% of pregnant women in the U.S. have had previous exposure to HSV-2, and an additional 2% acquire the virus during pregnancy, mirroring the HSV-2 infection rate in the general population. The risk of transmission to the newborn is 30-57% in cases where the mother acquired a primary infection in the third trimester of pregnancy. Risk of transmission by a mother with existing antibodies for both HSV-1 and HSV-2 has a much lower (1-3%) transmission rate. This in part is due to the transfer of significant titer of protective maternal antibodies to the fetus from about the seventh month of pregnancy. However, shedding of HSV-1 from both primary genital infection and reactivations is associated with higher transmission from mother to infant.

HSV-1 neonatal herpes is extremely rare in developing countries because development of HSV-1 specific antibodies usually occurs in childhood or adolescence, precluding a later genital HSV-1 infection. HSV-2 infections are much more common in these countries. In industrialized nations, the adolescent HSV-1 seroprevalance has been dropping steadily for the last 5 decades. The resulting increase in the number of young women becoming sexually active while HSV-1 seronegative has contributed to increased HSV-1 genital herpes rates, and as a result, increased HSV-1 neonatal herpes in developed nations. A recent three-year study in Canada (2000–2003) revealed a neonatal HSV incidence of 5.9 per 100,000 live births and a case fatality rate of 15.5%. HSV-1 was the cause of 62.5% of cases of neonatal herpes of known type, and 98.3% of transmission was asymptomatic. Asymptomatic genital HSV-1 has been shown to be more infectious to the neonate, and is more likely to produce neonatal herpes, than HSV-2, However, with prompt application of antiviral therapy, the prognosis of neonatal HSV-1 infection is better than that for HSV-2.