Dog bite as a public health concern in Addis Ababa

Abstract

Introduction: Animal bites and scratches represent the most important public health issue related to dogs and cats because of the risk of rabies transmission associated with physical, psychological trauma and wound infection. Objective: The study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of animal bite of human beings in Addis Ababa. Methods: Data on the kind of animal, age of the patients, gender, site of bites and /or scratch were collected from the registry book and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. Results: A total of 1299 cases of bite and/or scratch were reported for the period September 2008 to August 2009. The majority of bites were made by dogs where stray dogs are much higher (X 2 = 0.83, p= 0.36). There is statistically highly significant difference of bites between sex (p = 0.001) and between age group (F = 5.41, p=0.02). The animal bite made by dogs was higher on legs (55.6 %) followed by hands (26.45 %) and multiple bites (7.51 %). Conclusions:The majority of bites were attributed to stray dogs followed by cats, horses, donkeys. To reduce the problem a preventative public education is suggested. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2011;25(1):58-60]

Animal-related injuries in a resource-limited setting: experiences from a Tertiary health institution in northwestern Tanzania

“…In keeping with other studies [30,31], the majority of injuries in the present study were in the lower and upper limbs. Attempts at using, the foot and hand to avoid animal bite may be the possible reason for these parts being affected more.…”

Diversity of spectrum and management of animal-inflicted injuries in the pediatric age group: A prospective study from a pediatric surgery department catering primarily to the rural population

“…[ 28 ] Likely explanation for this can be that humans tend to defend themselves from animal attacks using the foot and hand. In keeping with other studies,[ 29 30 ] lower extremity (46.15%) was more commonly affected than the upper extremity (23.08%). This may be attributed to the animal's nature of attacking moving body parts.…”

Prevalence and circumstances of dog bites in Poland – a longitudinal study

“…Similar to other research, our ndings suggested that adults of both genders were bitten the least in the head and neck areas (<10%), but sustained more bites in their extremities 15 including the hands, legs, and feet 17,53 . Adults are generally taller than children, and their lower extremities are the most exposed body parts, regardless of whether they ght the animal off or run away 15,43 .…”

“…Although fatalities in recent years are relatively rare, dog bites are commonly associated with physical and physiological trauma 17 such as permanent dis gurement 18 or the development of post-traumatic stress disorders 19 . Moreover, they can lead to serious bacterial infections 20 and the transfer of infectious diseases such as rabies or tetanus 21 .…”