Animal Bites and Rabies Prophylaxis in Rural Children: Indian Perspective

Abstract

A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital to study clinicoepidemiological profile of potentially rabid animal bite cases from rural India. Total of 308 children (median age 6 years) admitted to hospital, were recruited over 1 year and followed up till completion of antirabies vaccine course. Dog was the commonest (77.27%) offending animal. Of the exposures, 66.88% were scratches, 88.96% were unprovoked and 27.27% were categorized as Class III. The median times to wound toileting and reporting to health facility were 1 and 6 h, respectively. Majority received prompt PEP in hospital, and RIG was administered in 34.55% of Class II and 90.48% of Class III exposures. Compared with their older counterparts, children aged <5 years suffered more bites on face and trunk and more Class III exposures. The rabies prophylaxis scenario is encouraging, when compared with earlier studies, but there are gaps to be addressed.

Animal Contact and Rabies Prophylaxis Experience: Evaluation of 625 Pediatric Cases

“…Samanta et al have reported that the face and truncus are more in contact in young children (especially under the age of five) and right lower leg and left lower leg are the commonly affected regions in older children. The authors have also indicated that older children tend to agitate animals and have more bite marks on their extremities in order to defend themselves (12). Since cat contact was found more commonly in our study, hands and upper extremity were detected as frequent contact regions.…”

“…In a study by Samanta et al reviewing 308 pediatric patients with rabies suspected contact, male children were nearly twice in number compared to females and children over the age of 5 were detected most frequently among all. This difference was associated with the fact that boys were more interested in outdoor activities compared to girls (12).…”

Epidemiological Trends, Knowledge and Practices of Animal Bite in Children Attending Outpatient Department of Rewa City- A Hospital Based Survey

“…[8,13] One study reported children below 5 years had significantly greater incidence of bites on face and trunk than children more than 5 years of age. [15] This may be attributed to their playful nature, running at sight of dogs and short stature. Majority of the victims 84.7% had Category III.…”

Hayvan Teması ve Kuduz Profilaksi Deneyimleri: 625 Çocuk Olgunun Değerlendirilmesi

“…Samanta ve arkadaşları küçük çocuklarda (özellikle beş altı çocuklar) büyük çocuklara göre daha fazla yüz ve gövdenin temas ettiğini, büyük çocuklarda ise sağ alt bacağın ve ardından sol alt bacağın en sık etkilenen bölgeler olduğunu bildirmişlerdir. Yazarlar daha büyük çocukların hayvanları kızdırmak gibi kötü davranış eğilimlerinin olması ve köpek saldırılarına karşı kendilerini savunmaları gereği ekstremitelerde daha fazla ısırık olduğunu belirtmişlerdir (12). Çalışmamızda kedi ile temas daha fazla olduğu için el ve üst ekstremite daha sık temas bölgesi olarak bulunmuştur.…”