Important to Forensic Medicine Statistical Trends in Hospital Admissions of Patents Bitten and Struck by Dogs (W54 ICD-10) in the Lower Silesia Region of Poland in the Years 2006-2012

Abstract

Exposure to animate non-human mechanical forces shall theoretically become less and less frequent with the progress of civilization-as there are less and less animals in the humans nearest environment, especially wild or uncontrolled ones. However, as the society wealth grows it is becoming more and more popular to keep pets of different sorts. Also leisure time activities in open spaces reopen possibilities of contacts between humans and wild and stray animals. All this increases the risk of incidents resulting in humans harmed by animals. Data on causes of hospital admissions because of dog bite and strike incidents (W54 according to ICD-10) in the years 2006-2012, made available due to courtesy of the public healthcare insurance provider Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia in Lower Silesia region of Poland (NFZ), were analyzed to find out the current incidence and trends in dog bite and strike incidents in the analyzed period of time in order to equip clinical and forensic medicine as well as public health specialists with the current basis for decision making. The study revealed that the data on the Lower Silesia region of Poland are consistent with parameters characterizing other developed countries of the world: in the analyzed years there was significant and dynamic increase in the amount of dog bite and strike incidents resulting in hospital admissionsespecially at inhabited premises and roads. Keeping dogs as pets is very popular in Poland and thus the contacts between dogs and humans are common; unfortunately there is concurrently the lack of effective legal mechanisms of limiting pets abandonment with the resulting significant amount of stray animals. Such uncontrolled dogs are likely to trouble people in the common spaces; the study demonstrated that there exists a time association between the rise in amount of dog incidents and Polish population lifestyle changes, including the growing popularity of activities in the open air, especially everyday bicycle use that is being strongly encouraged also by Polish law starting from the year 2009. On the contrary, the risk of serious incidents involving dogs at trade, service, industrial and construction areas as well as at schools, other institutions and public administrative areas of Lower Silesia region of Poland shall be considered as minimal. Along with the increase in amount of bite incidents there is rising demand for the services of forensic dentistry experts in Poland.

Hospitalization for dog bites in Poland between 2006–2020

“…Australia, UK, USA) and low-and middleincome countries, as Bangladesh [8], India [9] and Iran [10]. In Poland, to-date, only one attempt has been made to assess the phenomenon [11].…”