Epidemiological characteristics and trends of animal bites in Neyshabur, Iran: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the trend of animal bites between 2015-2021 in Neyshabur, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, data were retrieved from the vice-chancellery of the Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences. The data included person variables, place and time variables, and animal variables. Results: There were 13190 cases of animal bites and the trend was increasing during 2015-2020. Most injuries were caused by dogs (86%), most animal bites (76.6%) occurred in males, and 28.1% of all cases were farmers. The most common bitten parts were the lower limbs (64.8%), often reported as a scratch (83.4%). Most of the biting animals (67.9%) were not strays, and 83.3% of them had bitten their owners. No rabies death was reported during the study period. Conclusions: The incidence of animal bites increases and is higher than the national statistics in Neyshabur, Iran. Serious attention and intervention should be given to control and prevent this health threat.