A 10-year review and epidemiology of animal bite cases in Gerash city, south of Iran: A retrospective cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To determine the temporal trend and epidemiology of animal bite cases in Gerash City, Iran. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed 630 cases of people with animal bites between 2011 and 2021 in Gerash City. The collected data were analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: The mean age of victims was (30.9±17.5) years. 80.54% Of victims were male, 39.70% were self-employed, and 64.60% were adults (≥18 years). Most cases of bites occurred in 2019 (91 cases), 2020 (74 cases) and 2021 (87 cases), and most of the bites were related to the upper limbs (62.70%). Most of the wounds were superficial (78%), most of the biting animals were domestic animals (91.74%), and most of the victims had Iranian nationality (97.62%). Conclusions: Given the increasing trend of animal bites in Gerash City, health authorities should carry out basic measures such as education and awareness among the public, especially at-risk groups such as adult males. Additionally, since most cases of bites are due to dogs, it seems necessary to plan for vaccination of dogs, especially those with owners.

Keywords

Animal bite / Gerash / Time trend / Disease / Epidemiology / Rabies

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