A cross-sectional epidemiological study of animal bite victims in district hospital Alwar, Rajasthan, India
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background Rabies, an invariably fatal viral disease, transmitted to humans through animal bites, mostly dogs. According to WHO, each year, 23 000–25 000 people die in the SEA Region due to rabies. These accounts for approximately 45% human deaths due to rabies worldwide. Objective Study epidemiological trend of animal bite in Alwar District Hospital. Methods A retrospective, record-based study was conducted in 200 animal bite victims presenting to District Hospital Alwar, Rajasthan wherein information on monthly number of animal bite cases was collected from records section of the hospital. Information on annual number of animal bite cases was available from the Annual Report of the hospital from 2018 onwards, this data was used for studying the monthly variation in animal bite cases. Data were compiled and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results Among 200 victims 76.3% were males, 56.7% belongs to15-45 year.’s, 61.6% were living in urban area, 31.3% and 21.7% of the victims were agriculture worker and laborers respectively. Among 95.8% victims bitten by dog, 89% of them were stray. 89.4% had Category III bite, lower extremity affected in 60.8%, fate of animal was unknown in 78.6% and 46% of the victims were bitten during evening hours. Conclusions Majority of bites were by stray dogs, unprovoked and category III bites. This indicates the need of large amount of anti-rabies serum or HRIG thereby increasing the cost of management of animal bite cases. There is a need to control stray dog population and immunize pet dogs.
Authors: Deepak Muraleedharan, Neethu E., Jayadevan R., Hafis Ahammed A., Suresh Kewalramani
Institution: SMS Medical College
Language: English
Subfield: Virology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4402096904