Isek Thomas I, Umoh Jarlath, Dzikwi Asabe A
Department of Veterinary Services, Ogoja Cross River State-Nigeria.
Vet Ital. 2019 Jun 30;55(2):163-168. doi: 10.12834/VetIt.150.431.5.
Rabies is one of the world's major zoonoses. Controlling rabies continues to pose a major public health challenge. The issues surrounding dog bites and the vaccination of dogs against rabies are important to consider in implementing programmes to control the spread of rabies. This is particularly true in Ogoja, Nigeria, where accessibility to adequate health care and veterinary medical services, and the management of canine populations are challenging. This retrospective study analyses factors associated with dog bites to humans and anti-rabies vaccination in dogs that were reported to a State Veterinary Hospital in Ogoja. Factors such as the age and sex of the dog bite victim, and season and site of bite, as well as the age, sex, breed, and vaccination history of the biting dogs were obtained for a period of 11 years (2001-2011). Out of 183 dog bite cases, 79 (43.2%) were to persons > 20 years of age. Anatomically, the majority of bite wounds - 20 (64.5%) - occurred on the lower extremities of the body. The seasonal distribution of bites indicates a higher frequency in the months of October and March (dry season). A total of 687 (43.9%) dogs were vaccinated out of 1,562 cases presented within the period of study. The highest vaccination rate was within the ages of 3-12 months (464 dogs, or 67.5%). In this study, dog bites were a common occurrence among male children > 20 years old, and the frequency of bites was high during the dry season. Proper sensitisation around how to manage dog bites and increase anti-rabies vaccination of dogs as a means of controlling the disease are recommended.
狂犬病是世界上主要的人畜共患病之一。控制狂犬病仍然是一项重大的公共卫生挑战。在实施控制狂犬病传播的计划时，围绕狗咬伤和给狗接种狂犬病疫苗的问题很重要，值得考虑。在尼日利亚的奥戈贾尤其如此，那里获得充足的医疗保健和兽医服务以及管理犬类种群都具有挑战性。这项回顾性研究分析了向奥戈贾一家州立兽医医院报告的狗咬伤人类以及狗接种抗狂犬病疫苗的相关因素。在11年（2001 - 2011年）期间获取了诸如狗咬伤受害者的年龄和性别、咬伤季节和部位，以及咬人狗的年龄、性别、品种和疫苗接种史等因素。在183例狗咬伤病例中，79例（43.2%）是20岁以上的人被咬伤。从解剖学角度看，大多数咬伤伤口——20例（64.5%）——发生在身体下肢。咬伤的季节分布表明在10月和3月（旱季）频率较高。在研究期间提交的1562例病例中，共有687只（43.9%）狗接种了疫苗。最高接种率在3至12个月龄之间（464只狗，即67.5%）。在这项研究中，狗咬伤在20岁以上男性儿童中很常见，并且在旱季咬伤频率较高。建议就如何处理狗咬伤以及增加狗的抗狂犬病疫苗接种作为控制该疾病的一种手段进行适当的宣传。
