Department of Healthcare Services Management, School of Health Management & Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Health Managers Development Institute, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran.
PLoS One. 2021 May 25;16(5):e0252058. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252058. eCollection 2021.
Rabies is one of the oldest zoonosis viral diseases, which still remains as one of the most important threats to public health in the 21st century.
This cross-sectional study examined epidemiologic features of all 33,996 cases of persons bitten by animals and referred to the rabies prophylaxis centers in Golestan province between March 2017 and March 2020. Factors included demographic information of the victim (age, gender, and occupation), type of invasive animals (dog, cat, and other types), time of bite (year, month, and hour), place of residence (urban or rural), and injury and treatment statuses. We also obtained national and provincial animal bite incidence data for all of Iran and for Golestan province for the longer interval 2013-2020 to examine broader time trends. We used SPSS version 19, QGIS version 3.1, and Excel 2013 to generate frequency distributions and descriptive statistics.
The incidence rates of animal bites in Golestan province and Iran as a whole both increased smoothly. The latest incidence rate of animal bites in Golestan was 652 per 100,000 people, almost three times the overall national figure for 2020. Most cases of animal bites (67.6%) occurred in rural areas, and 36% of the victims aged under 19 years old. Dog and cat bites accounted for the great majority of cases (89% and 8%, respectively). The highest rate of animal bites was reported in the spring (30.8%). The lower limb was the most commonly bitten area in these individuals (64.6%). Of note, 87% of the cases received incomplete prophylactic post-exposure treatment, and 18% received immunoglobulin.
The increasing rates of animal bites in the study area as well as the higher rate compared to the national average indicates the need for further review of animal bite control programs.
狂犬病是最古老的人畜共患病病毒之一，在 21 世纪仍然是对公众健康的最重要威胁之一。
本横断面研究调查了 2017 年 3 月至 2020 年 3 月期间，戈勒斯坦省所有 33996 例被动物咬伤并送往狂犬病预防中心的患者的流行病学特征。因素包括受害者的人口统计学信息（年龄、性别和职业）、侵袭性动物的类型（狗、猫和其他类型）、咬伤时间（年、月和小时）、居住地（城市或农村）以及伤害和治疗状况。我们还获得了伊朗全国和戈勒斯坦省 2013-2020 年更长时间间隔的动物咬伤发生率数据，以检查更广泛的时间趋势。我们使用 SPSS 版本 19、QGIS 版本 3.1 和 Excel 2013 生成频率分布和描述性统计数据。
戈勒斯坦省和伊朗全国的动物咬伤发生率均呈平稳上升趋势。戈勒斯坦省最新的动物咬伤发生率为每 10 万人 652 人，几乎是 2020 年全国数字的三倍。大多数动物咬伤发生在农村地区（67.6%），受害者年龄在 19 岁以下的占 36%。狗和猫咬伤占大多数病例（分别为 89%和 8%）。动物咬伤报告率最高的是春季（30.8%）。下肢是这些人中最常见的咬伤部位（64.6%）。值得注意的是，87%的病例接受了不完全的暴露后预防治疗，18%的病例接受了免疫球蛋白。
研究区域动物咬伤率的上升以及与全国平均水平相比更高的比例表明，需要进一步审查动物咬伤控制计划。
