An unvaccinated NSW girl diagnosed with tetanus is on the mend but it's likely she'll remain in an intensive care unit for the next few weeks.
The seven-year-old was rushed to Brisbane's Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in a critical condition last Tuesday after she started displaying symptoms of the potentially deadly disease.
She has since responded well to treatment and is now in a stable condition, a hospital spokesman told AAP on Monday.
"I understand it will be a couple of weeks before she's released as it's quite a nasty infection," he said.
It's believed the child picked up the disease through an open wound on her foot while playing in the garden of her northern NSW home.
Tetanus cases are extremely rare in Australia given many people are vaccinated at a young age.
There is no cure and treatment relies on managing complications which can include jaw and muscle spasms, convulsions and breathing difficulties.
The case prompted renewed debate in the north coast region which has some of the lowest immunisation rates in Australia.
Doctors and pro-vaccination advocates said it was tragic that an unvaccinated child was hospitalised with such an easily preventable disease.
