Keywords
Abstract
Objective: Among the oldest common viral diseases between humans and animals, Rabies is still one of the greatest threats to public health in the 21st century, particularly in developing countries, where it is an increasing problem. This study was conducted to determine the epidemiological patterns of animal bites in Iranshahr, southeast of Iran during the years of 2019 to 2021.
Methods: In this descriptive study we were conducted to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of 6085 animal bites reported to the rabies prevention centers of Iranshahr University of Medical Sciences between April 2019 and March 2021. A demographic profile (age, gender, occupation, and nationality), the type of the attacking animal (a dog, a cat, or another type of animal), the year and month of the bite, as well as the state of the injury and treatment, were collected. Data analysis using SPSS version 19 at a significant level (P-value ≤ 0.05), ArcGIS version 10.8.2, and Excel 2019 were used to generate frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, and the distribution map of animal bites.
Results: The mean age of the injured was 25.22±20.1 years. Out of 6085 animal bite cases, 4071 cases (66.9%) were males and the rest were women. Regarding the residential area, 4083 (67.1%) related to rural areas and 38% of the victims were under 19 years old. Dogs made up the majority of animal biting cases (89.8%), followed by cats (5.2%). Also, the spring season was reported with the highest share of bites (30.8 percent). The cumulative incidence of animal bites during the time period was 151/100,000 population, which was the lowest during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (131/100,000), and the highest during the three years in Rask City (253/100,000). A total of 14 cases of suspected animals were sampled, of which 8 cases were confirmed as animal rabies-positive by the Pasteur Institute of Iran.
Conclusions: School-aged children and adolescents were most likely to be bitten by dogs, suggesting educational programs should target these age groups. Furthermore, confirmed cases of rabies in animals are also alarming for other organizations involved in the rabies program, which require control programs that include relocating stray dogs and vaccinating owners' dogs.
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