Tetanus infection generally has an incubation period, which largely depends on the location of the wound, the extent of infection, and the immune status of the body. This period is mostly about one week, but it can be as short as 24 hours and as long as several months or even years. For patients with shorter incubation periods, the symptoms tend to be more severe after the onset, and the prognosis is worse, with 90% of patients developing the disease within two weeks of injury. For neonatal tetanus infections, the typical incubation period is about a week after the umbilical cord has been cut, and occasionally, symptoms of tetanus can occur years later after the removal of a foreign body that had remained in the body. For tetanus infection, timely preventive vaccinations should be administered; the general principle is not to exceed 24 hours. Even if more than 24 hours have passed without the onset of the disease, timely vaccination can still achieve preventive effects.