Incidence Of Bites Research Articles

Ecological and Epidemiological Findings Associated with Zoonotic Rabies Outbreaks and Control in Moshi, Tanzania, 2017-2018.

Approximately 1500 people die annually due to rabies in the United Republic of Tanzania. Moshi, in the Kilimanjaro Region, reported sporadic cases of human rabies between 2017 and 2018. In response and following a One Health approach, we implemented surveillance, monitoring, as well as a mass vaccinations of domestic pets concurrently in >150 villages, achieving a 74.5% vaccination coverage (n = 29, 885 dogs and cats) by September 2018. As of April 2019, no single human or animal case has been recorded. We have observed a disparity between awareness and knowledge levels of community members on rabies epidemiology. Self-adherence to protective rabies vaccination in animals was poor due to the challenges of costs and distances to vaccination centers, among others. Incidence of dog bites was high and only a fraction (65%) of dog bite victims (humans) received post-exposure prophylaxis. A high proportion of unvaccinated dogs and cats and the relative intense interactions with wild dog species at interfaces were the risk factors for seropositivity to rabies virus infection in dogs. A percentage of the previously vaccinated dogs remained unimmunized and some unvaccinated dogs were seropositive. Evidence of community engagement and multi-coordinated implementation of One Health in Moshi serves as an example of best practice in tackling zoonotic diseases using multi-level government efforts. The district-level establishment of the One Health rapid response team (OHRRT), implementation of a carefully structured routine vaccination campaign, improved health education, and the implementation of barriers between domestic animals and wildlife at the interfaces are necessary to reduce the burden of rabies in Moshi and communities with similar profiles.

168 Effects of proportion of pigs per feeder hole and stocking density on growth performance and tail and ear biting in the nursery

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different numbers of pigs per feeder hole and stocking densities on growth performance and incidence of tail and ear biting in the nursery. A total of 2,160 pigs (PIC 337 × Camborough, initial BW 6.1 ± 0.3 kg; weaning age 21.5 ± 0.7 d) were used in a 42-d study. Each pen contained a semi-automatic feeder with 2, 4, 6, or 8 holes of 16 cm wide by 14 cm deep each. At allotment, 20 pigs were placed per pen. The experiment was designed in a 4 x 3 factorial arrangement with nine replicates per treatment, comparing four different number of pigs per feeder hole (PFH) (10; 5; 3.3 and 2.5), and three stocking densities (SD) (0.15; 0.25 and 0.35 m2/pig). Pen was the experimental unit for data analysis. For final weight and ADG, a quadratic effect (P = 0.001) was observed for PFH and linear effect (P = 0.001) for SD. For ADFI, low stocking density increased ADFI (linear, P = 0.002). For G:F, a quadratic effect was observed for PFH (P = 0.037). No significant effects were observed for mortality (P > 0.464). The percentage of removals was affected by the interaction between PFH and SD (P = 0.039), indicating that increasing feeder space may reduce the percentage of removals at high stocking densities (0.15 and 0.25 m2/pig). For tail and ear biting, a quadratic effect was observed for PFH and SD (P = 0.031). These results suggest that both feeder space and stocking density affect performance and incidence of tail and ear biting, most of the times as quadratic and linear effects, respectively, and the factors may work together to influence pig removal rate in the nursery phase.

12 A multimodal approach for piglet pain management after tail docking

Abstract Millions of piglets on commercial production farms are tail docked each year to reduce the incidence of tail biting. While this procedure is known to be painful, piglets in the United States are often not provided analgesia or anesthesia for pain relief. The objectives of this study were to assess a multimodal approach to managing tail docking pain in piglets, using 0.4 mg/kg meloxicam (MEL), 0.04 mg/kg buprenorphine (BUP), and Maxilene® (MAX). The effectiveness of each drug and drug combination was evaluated using behavioral indicators, vocalization, and facial grimace analysis. This study also assessed whether male and female piglets responded differently to pain or pain treatments. Four-day-old piglets from 14 litters (n = 165 total) were used and piglets within a litter were randomly assigned to one of six possible treatments: MEL, BUP, MEL + BUP, MEL + BUP + MAX, no treatment (tail docked control), or sham (non-tail docked control). Treatments were administered intramuscularly (MEL, BUP) or topically on the tail (MAX) 20 min prior to tail docking. Piglets administered MEL + BUP and BUP demonstrated significantly fewer pain behaviors than piglets in the MEL and no treatment group (p < 0.05). MEL + BUP + MAX and BUP piglets also grimaced significantly less than piglets in the no treatment group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in emitted vocalizations between the analgesia-treated piglets and the no treatment group, and both injection and tail docking elicited piglet vocalizations of similar frequency, power, and energy (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in behavior, facial grimacing or emitted vocalizations between male and female piglets. All treatment groups with buprenorphine were able to alleviate tail docking-associated pain, suggesting that opioid administration is highly effective for managing piglet pain.

Forecasting delay times in post-exposure prophylaxis to human animal bite injuries in Central Iran: A decision tree analysis.

Background and Aim:Data mining in medical sciences provides countless opportunities for demonstrating hidden patterns of a data set. These patterns can help general physicians and health workers in preventing diseases. This study aimed to forecast delay times in post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to human animal bite injuries in central Iran using a decision tree analysis.Materials and Methods:The data of 2072 human animal bite cases were collected from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unit of Qom Provincial Health Center, Iran from January 2017 to December 2018. The information related to animal bite incidents, including the biting animal characteristics and data on the bitten humans, was obtained by investigating the epidemiological survey forms of human animal bites. The decision tree model was applied to forecast the delay time of receiving PEP.Results:A delay of more than 48 h in the initiation of PEP was estimated among 12.73% of animal bite victims. The most important variables to predict delay time of receiving PEP were the species of biting animal, time and cause of animal bite occurrences in 24 h a day, respectively. Hence, the model showed a delay in the initiation of PEP if the biting animal was a cattle or, a carnivore, and the time of being bitten was from 7 am to 1 pm, or if the animal was carnivore and the time of being bitten was between 1 and 7 pm, and the cause of animal bite was playing with the animal.Conclusion:Based on the findings of the study on different variables affecting the initiation of PEP, the concepts related to animal bite and rabies, including the timely injection of anti-rabies vaccine to prevent rabies, it is a must to educate and train, all the people, especially housewives and students.

Against Common Assumptions, the World’s Shark Bite Rates Are Decreasing

The trends of the world’s top ten countries relating to shark bite rates, defined as the ratio of the annual number of shark bites of a country and its resident human population, were analyzed for the period 2000-2016. A nonparametric permutation-based methodology was used to determine whether the slope of the regression line of a country remained constant over time or whether so-called joinpoints, a core feature of the statistical software Joinpoint, occurred, at which the slope changes and a better fit could be obtained by applying a straight-line model. More than 90% of all shark bite incidents occurred along the US, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand coasts. Since three of these coasts showed a negative trend when transformed into bite rates, the overall global trend is decreasing. Potential reasons for this decrease in shark bite rates—besides an increase in the world’s human population, resulting in more beach going people, and a decrease of sharks due to overfishing—are discussed.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of One Health surveillance strategies for rabies control

Cost-effectiveness analysis of One Health surveillance strategies for rabies control

Workplace-related risk of tick bites in military personnel stationed in Northern Germany.

There are more than 500,000 employees in Germany alone who are at risk of being bitten by a tick at their workplace and thus also at risk of being infected with Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. or the tick-borne meningoencephalitis virus. So far, there are only a small number of studies on the risk of tick bites in Central Europe, in particular, for military personnel during relevant training activities. During a total of 36months of training in 2008/2009 and from 2012 to 2014, the number of tick bites and any resulting diseases of 1156 recruits under comparable conditions of exposure and prevention were documented based on their medical records. The incidence of tick bites was calculated with each recruit's individual exposure time for field training. There were a total of 66 tick bites during an exposure time of 317,059h of field training (0.21 tick bites per 1000h of training). The risk of tick bites was found to have a seasonal dependency. In 6 out of the 66 cases in which someone was bitten, the patients consulted a physician for a follow-up examination, and in one of these cases the bite resulted in an infection requiring treatment. It turns out that there is a rather low but relevant risk of being exposed to tick bites for military personnel during their field training. Under the given study conditions, months with a high risk of tick bites can be distinguished from months with a low risk of tick bites, which is of vital importance, in particular, for guidance and prevention.

Impact of Integrating Rabies Education Into the Curriculum of Public Elementary Schools in Ilocos Norte, Philippines on Rabies Knowledge, and Animal Bite Incidence.

As part of a province wide rabies elimination program, rabies specific information was integrated into the curriculum of all public elementary schools in Ilocos Norte, Philippines using a specifically developed teachers' manual. The rabies educational messages included rabies, animal bite prevention, bite management and responsible pet ownership and were integrated into lessons in several subjects. Four elementary schools were randomly selected and an assessment of the change in student's rabies knowledge and animal bite incidence were conducted. The study tested all students in grades 1–5 before the curriculum integration was implemented and retested these cohorts 1 year later, after implementation. Awareness of rabies was high before the implementation, likely due to the province-wide elimination campaign. However, awareness still increased significantly across all schools, and detailed knowledge of rabies increased significantly in all but one school and age cohort. Bite incidence in the 6 months prior to each survey was also recorded and the percentage of students suffering animal bites fell significantly between the two tests. The data suggested that knowledge increase correlated with decreased bite incidence in some groups but not all, suggesting a more complex relationship between knowledge acquisition and behavioral change which warrants further investigation.

Assessing natural herd immunity to tick-borne encephalitis in Republic Sakha (Yakutia)

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a natural focal viral neuroinfection vastly spread in the mid-latitude climate zone of theEurasia. Lethal cases and disability related to TBE determine its high epidemiological significance as well as underlie undiminished attention to prevent it in endemic territories. At the same time, TBE epidemiologic features significantly differ in various geographic areas. Importantly, Republic Sakha (Yakutia) is not among TBE endemic areas in theRussian Federation. However, in the last decade an increased incidence of ixodic tick bites was registered in the Republic Sakha. A pattern of pathogen-specific population immunity is one of the most valuable criteria for assessing magnitude of epidemic process in TBE foci. Hence, our study was aimed at assessing natural herd immunity TBEV in Republic Sakha associated with elevated incidence of tick bite visits. Here, we analyzed the data regarding the rate of tick attacks in the period of 2001–2007 in Republic Sakha. Residents and individuals unvaccinated against TBEV in the city ofYakutskas well as various administrative regions were examined to record the peak incidence of tick attacks. It was found that a range of the administrative regions recording with registered of ixodic tick attacks and elevated incidence of tick bites was expanded. Moreover, the top incidence of tick bites was annually recorded in the south regions of the republic Aldanian, Neryungri, Olyekminsk, Leninsk, Khangalassky districts, city ofYakutskand its suburbs. Furthermore, TBEV-specific immunoglobulins were detected in 5.7±0.68% of the residents examined suggesting about contacts with the pathogen. In addition, the peak count of seropositive people (8.9±1.85%) was identified in Namsky district located in the central part of the republic. Overall, detection rate of TBEV-specific antibodies among general adult population (6.9±0.95%) was significantly higher compared to those observed in children (3.9±0.89%, р 0.05). no significant differences in urban (5.8±1.12%) vs. rural population (5.63±0.84%) was found.

Epidemiological characterization of bites: A retrospective study of dog bites to humans in Chile during 2009

Accidents involving dog bites to humans have high incidence worldwide. According to studies conducted in different countries, dogs are responsible for 60%-95% of all bites. This type of incident is a growing public health issue in Chile and an important economic burden for health systems. The problems that arise from bites include physical injuries, psychological trauma, and zoonosis. The objective of the present study was to characterize epidemiologically all bite incidents in Chile that were recorded in 11 public emergency services and analyze the information provided in health care forms from 5195 bites recorded in six regions of Chile. Our results show that dogs were responsible for 91.6% of bite incidents. The victim knew the offending dog in most cases (63.7%). The highest percentage of people bitten was between ages 5 and 9 years, with a rate of 125 bites per 100,000 inhabitants (P ≤ 0.05). 86.6% of the cases in the study were single bites. Although the national health system has records of bite-related incidents, few studies provide relevant information on animal bites. This is a public health issue and we should know the magnitude of the problem, the species responsible for the bite, and the context in which accidents occur. The information obtained from the analyses performed in this study can contribute to develop prevention and control programs for bites, both in Chile and in other countries with similar sociocultural characteristics.

School Nursing Protocol for the Management of Human Bites.

Human biting is considered a common stage in pediatric infant growth and development. However, this stage is not considered appropriate once children enter group daycare and school settings, and such behavior can lead to injury, stress, and trauma for other students and staff. When biting occurs in the school setting, staff are often unprepared to respond appropriately, and may seek delayed care, if at all. The school nurse may also be ill-equipped to provide first aid and education if there are no standardized guidelines to follow. Having a protocol in place for human bite incidents in the school setting helps school nurses provide information to students, parents, and staff in a timely manner and assists them with following evidence-based practice. Accurate documentation of the incidents also allows school nurses to identify triggers and knowledge deficits, which can assist them in planning educational interventions and training in the school setting.

Incidence and characteristics of dog bites in three remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland, Australia, 2006-2011

Dog bites are a worldwide public health concern that can cause serious injury, psychological trauma, disease and death while also affecting animal welfare. This study analyzes dog bite injury data from a clinical file audit performed at Primary Health Care Clinics in three remote Indigenous communities within Far North Queensland, Australia, over the period from 1st January, 2006, to 31st December, 2011. There were 229 dog bite presentations involving 201 individuals. An overall incidence rate of 16.5 per 1,000 population was found across the communities. Incidence rates were highest in 35- to 44-year-olds, did not vary with gender of victim, varied between communities, and significantly decreased after the strengthening of alcohol restrictions midway through the study period. Development of a specific dog bite monitoring system through the Primary Health Care Clinics could enhance knowledge of human-dog interactions, assist in the development of mitigation strategies to reduce dog bites, and determine their effectiveness.

Early pathology in venom-induced consumption coagulopathy by Rhabdophis tigrinus (Yamakagashi snake) envenomation

Objective: Rhabdophis tigrinus (Yamakagashi in Japanese) is a venomous non-front-fanged colubroid snake capable of inflicting envenoming with life-threatening defibrinating coagulopathy. However, because of the uncommon incidence of bites and tendency for late development of symptoms/signs, the early effects of the venom on the coagulation system are poorly known.Case report: We describe a boy bitten by a wild R. tigrinus and report his clinical course starting at 30 min after the bite.Results: At 30 min after envenomation, only the thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) level was elevated. At 90 min after envenomation, laboratory data revealed a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and increased prothrombin time international normalized ratio (PT-INR) with elevated fibrinogen degeneration product (FDP). At 5.5 h after envenomation, APTT and PT-INR increased beyond a measurable range, and fibrinogen levels dropped below the detection limit. We administered recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin and antivenom prepared against R. tigrinus antivenom. Venom-induced consumption coagulopathy (VICC), which is sometimes reported as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), subsequently improved rapidly.Discussion: We found that TAT is the earliest marker to detect R. tigrinus envenomation and subsequent VICC occurrence. Although rTM was effective in this case, further studies are necessary to prove its safety and efficacy.

Epidemiological patterns of animal bites in Yazd Province (central Iran) between 2013 and 2017

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological pattern of animal bites in Yazd Province, central Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 8 545 individuals with animal bites who were referred to the Yazd Province Rabies Treatment Center were investigated using the census method from April 2013 to March 2017. The variables included: demographic information, household living condition, the type of biting animals, the domesticated and wild animals, the time of biting based on year, the residence location (urban or rural), and the treatment status. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using Excel 2013, SPSS version 25 and Arc GIS 14.1 Software. Results: A total of 8 545 cases of animal bites were reported in Yazd province from 2013 to 2017. The most animal bites (with 4 253 case of bites) and the lowest animal bites (with 121 case of bites) occurred in Yazd and Bahabad district, respectively. The incidence of animal bites was 168.4 per 100 000 people during the five-year period. Most of cases (73.9%) occurred in urban areas. Dog and cat bites accounted for 47.6% and 47.4% of all cases, respectively. Most of animal bites were reported in the summer (29.4%). Sixty percent of the cases received incomplete treatments, while 40% of them received complete treatments. During this study, three positive cases of fatal rabies from dog bites were reported. Conclusions: The incidence of animal bites is high in Yazd province, and more patients are bitten by dog and cat. Hence, educational, preventive, and informative programs are required to reduce the incidence of animal bites.

Seasonal Variation in Incidence and Severity of Dog Bites in a Union Territory of Northern India

Seasonal Variation in Incidence and Severity of Dog Bites in a Union Territory of Northern India

THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF SOMATIC PATHOLOGIES ON THE CONDITION OF ORGANS AND TISSUES OF THE ORAL CAVITY

Relevance. The severity of manifestations and negative symptoms of pathological changes in the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity are directly correlated with the frequency of use of potent drugs and the severity of the course of mental disorders.The purpose of the study was to assess the dental status in people with mental disorders.Material and research methods. The dental status of 210 patients with schizophrenia aged 20 to 45 years was stud-ied. The control group consisted of 208 people without mental pathology, as well as 190 patients suffering from borderline mental disorders. The incidence and intensity of caries was determined by the CPU index. The preva-lence and intensity of periodontal disease The prevalence of periodontal disease was evaluated by the CPITN index, WHO, 1980.The results of our own research. It should be noted that, in a comparative aspect, in individuals not exposed to somatic pathology, the indicators for the frequent detec-tion of periodontal pockets accompanied by varying de-grees of tooth mobility were almost two times lower. The incidence of dental caries was significantly higher in the main group and in the comparison group, compared with the data in the control group. With schizophrenia, the number of patients who were diagnosed with damage to the hard tissues of the teeth, as well as their opponents in the comparison group, was 100%, while in the third group, the number was determined to be within the range of 91.8 ± 1.90 %. According to the results of a statistical analysis of the results obtained for all groups and ages, the incidence of cross bite increased compared with other groups in the comparison group, which consisted of pa-tients with other mental disorders – 8.4±2.01 %, versus 3.2 ± 1.18 % and 0, in the main group of patients with schizophrenia and the control group of healthy individu-als, respectively.Conclusions. The identification at this stage of diagnosis of the true causal factors in the examined patient popula-tion is an important point in determining the need and planning the necessary amount of orthodontic interven-tion, which minimizes the risk of a deterioration in the quality of life of these patients and thereby greatly im-proves the effectiveness of complex treatment of the un-derlying background pathology.

Epidemiological patterns of animal bites in Abadeh district of central Iran from 2012 to 2018: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: To investigate the epidemiology of animal bites and associated factors in Abadeh district (central Iran) from 2012 to 2018. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1 407 individuals with animal bites who were referred to the Abadeh Rabies Treatment Center were investigated by using the census method from 2012 to 2018. The variables included the victim’s demographic information (age, gender, occupation), the type of biting animals (dog, cat, and other animals), the domesticated and wild animals, the time of biting based on year and month, the residence location (urban or rural), the treatment status, and the anatomical location of the wounds. Results: The annual incidence rate of animal bites was 189.62 per 100 000 population. Totally 83.4% of the victims were male. The average age was (33.66±18.97) years and individuals in the age range of 36-50 years were greater at risk. Most of the animal bites were from dogs (77.8%). About two thirds (62.1%) of the bites were from household animals. A total of 57.1% of individuals lived in urban areas. Most victims were engaged in farming and animal husbandry. The highest prevalence of animal bites (37.4%) happened in the summer. None of the patients had any clinical signs of rabies. Conclusions: To reduce the incidence of animal bites, high-risk groups including farmers and ranchers should be educated about bite prevention, and it should be ensured that they are managed correctly.

A retrospective analysis of snake envenomation in the intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in Delhi

Objective: To evaluate the epidemiology, clinical profile and treatment for patients with snake bite in the intensive care unit of our hospital. Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with snake bite admitted to the intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital, North Delhi, was conducted between January 2013 and October 2018. Their demographic profile, time and site of bite, clinical manifestations and time interval between the bite and anti-snake venom administration were recorded. Results: A total number of 102 patients with snake bite were studied, of which 54.9% were males and 45.1% were females. Most patients were presented in the monsoon season and snake bites occurred mainly in the night and early morning. A total of 56.3% of the patients with clinical manifestations received anti-snake venom within 3 h after the snake bite. Most patients presented with painless bites and neuroparalytic features with ptosis that was the most common clinical manifestation (50.9%). Anti-snake venom was administered to 55 patients (53.9%) with an average dose of 42 vials per patient and the mortality was 11.7%. Conclusions: Neuroparalytic krait envenomation accounted for the highest incidence of venomous bites in our study. Early medical treatment with judicious anti snake venom administration and related education is crucial.

Clinico-Epidemiological Profile of Snake Bite Patients in a Tertiary Healthcare Centre in South India

Introduction: Snake bite is a common medical emergency affecting the rural poor. India has the highest rates of envenomation with 81,000 envenomation and 11,000 deaths. Such high figures in spite of availability of antivenin is a cause for concern. The availability of medical records of the victims of snake bite enabled the analysis of the factors contributing to such high mortality and morbidity associated with snake bite. Aims and Objectives:To study the prevalence of poisonous and non-poisonous snake bites in the part of Coastal Karnataka with reference to age, sex, occupation, part of body bitten, time of bite and seasonal variation. To know the systemic envenomation of various types of poisonous snakes and their effective management in reducing the mortality and morbidity rate. To have a common knowledge of the types of poisonous snakes common in this locality and their clinical manifestations. To study the socio-economic impact of snakebite cases in the region. Results: A total of 454 case records were analyzed from 2010 to 2014. 9.69% of the victims died. Male to female ratio was 2.19:1. The highest incidence was between the ages 31 and 40 which was 19.82 %( n=90). Fang marks were recorded in 45.38% of the cases. 16.9% of them reported to a hospital within an hour of the bite. 33.03% reported within 24 hours of the bite. In 65.41% of the cases, the site of snake bite was found to be the lower limb. 23.8 %( n=50) of the identified snakes were cobras. 66.66% (n=140) were vipers. 28.64% of the bites occurred between 18:00 hours and 0:00 hours. 33.92% (n= 154) of the incidents occurred outdoors. Ayurvedic medication was given in 38.23% while a tourniquet was tied in 29.41% of cases. 15.19% of the cases had haemotoxic manifestations while 18.9% had neurological manifestations. 77.5% had local reactions. Conclusion: Snake bite is an important occupational hazard that causes preventable death and disability. Delay in hospitalization, use of traditional medicine and infection are factors contributing to significant mortality and morbidity. Awareness regarding outdoor safety and early hospitalization can significantly reduce the incidence of snake bite.

A study on animal bites and envenomings in rural Varanasi: a community based cross-sectional study

Background: Animal bites are major public health issues in children and adults worldwide. The most important bites are by dogs, cats and monkeys that may cause rabies. Globally, approximately 60,000 annual deaths occur from rabies. Another important bite is by snakes. In India, approximately 94,000–1,25,000 deaths occur by snake bites annually. Therefore, we undertook this study to estimate the incidence of animal bites and to determine the treatment seeking behaviour of victims of animal bites.Methods: It is a cross-sectional study conducted in Bariyasanpur village of Chiraigaon block of Varanasi district. A total of 2039 individuals above one year of age were covered by surveying 342 households out of 437 households. Pre-tested structured schedule was used to find out the incidence of animal bites/ envenomings and treatment seeking behaviour among study subjects during the last one year.Results: The incidence of animal bites/envenomings for the study population in the past one year was 35.31/1000 population. Proportion of the bites by dogs was 51.4% (37/72) followed by scorpions 23.6% (17/72), rats 11.1% (8/72), snakes 11.1% (8/72), monkeys 1.4% (1/72) and jackals 1.4% (1/72). Immediately after the bites, 28 subjects (38.9%) went to faith healers. Only 70.8% took treatment for animal bites at appropriate health facility.Conclusions: From this study, we found a high incidence of dog bite cases and poor treatment seeking behaviour. Probably poor awareness about the animal bites/envenomings could be the main reason for improper management practices. It is a matter of concern for policy planners.