Abstract

Objective: To determine the epidemiology of animal bites in in Islamabad-Gharb County, Western Iran during the years 2004-2008. Methods: This is a case series research that explains biting incidents. In this descriptive study, all the data were gathered from each case by experienced personnel. Pending a 5-year course, by a questionnaire, bitten individuals listed into this research. The essential information of animal bite cases, such as age, gender, job, residence site (rural or urban) and bite place on the body were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics by SPSS version 18. Results: The results of this study showed that the mean incidence rate of animal bites within 2004-2008 was 2.6/1 000 people. The highest incidence was observed in 2004 (3.3/1 000 people). The total number of animal bites was 2 864 cases. From all who were injured by rabid animals, 96.5% were living in rural areas and 3.5% in cities. The cases were mostly males (72.5%). The most highly affected age group was 10-19 years old individuals (26%). Bites were most frequent among students (29.7%). Feet were the most common bite site (75.8%). Nearly 96.7% were bitten by dogs and 2.4% by cats. The maximum frequencies of animal bites were in the summer (29.7%). Conclusions: The findings indicate that biting incidents are common in Islamabad-Gharb County thus control measures are needed to decrease the prevalence rate of this difficulty.

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