A primary bacterial infectious disease that results_in prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers, has_material_basis_in Clostridium tetani, which produces tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin, which is carried to the brain and spinal cord, where it binds irreversibly to receptors inhibiting neurotransmission. Damaged upper motor neurons cannot control reflex responses to afferent sensory stimuli. (Experimental Factor Ontology, EFO_0005593)
