An Epidemiologic Survey on Animal Bite Cases Referred to Health Centers in Mashhad During 2006 to 2009

Abstract

Despite vast improvements in prevention and treatment of animal bite, its annual prevalence is increasing. The first step in preventing animal bite is to determine environmental and human risk factors. Among the causes, dog has the most important role in disease transmission to humans. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, 40 to 70 thousand people annually die of rabies in endemic countries. The annual cases of animal bite in Iran are 140 people per 100 thousand populations. The highest rate of animal bites belonged to Golestan Province in 2007 with an incidence of 610 cases per 100 thousand populations. Besides population differences in terms of hygiene level and the required awareness, climatic variability emphasizes the need for separate surveys in different parts of the country. In this regard, the present study aimed at identifying the recorded cases of animal bite referred to health centers of Mashhad (No. 1, 2, 3) during 2006-2009. In this descriptive-cross sectional study, all animal bite cases referred to the health centers of Mashhad (No. 1, 2, 3) during 2006-2009 were collected based on the data recorded in notebooks. Then, the information such as number, job and gender of bitten individuals, the species of the responsible biting animal, and the sort of rabies vaccination was filled in questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS-16. Statistical tables and Chi-Square test were used for data description and analysis. A total of 14037 cases of animal bite during 2006-2009 were studied. The animal bite cases in urban areas and men were 61.5% and 81.8%, respectively. The most bitten individuals aged 20-29 years old (24%). Peoples with nongovernmental jobs (24.1%) were in the first place and then students were in the second place (19.1%). The seasonal distribution of animal bites showed that the most of bites occurred in summer (25.7%). Hands and legs were bitten in 44.1% and 43.9% of cases, respectively. In terms of the animal type, the majority of cases were bitten by dogs (77.3%). Only 16.9% of cases were vaccinated against rabies completely and the remainder has not received complete vaccination. The results of the present study showed that animal bite is still one of the most important problems of public health in Mashhad. It is recommended to increase the awareness level of people exposure to animal bite to improve the health condition. Furthermore, it is suggested to eliminate reservoir and carrier animals and immunization of owned animals (pets) on specified time periods.