Epidemiological and demographic study of acute animal biting in Abdanan County,Ilam Province,Western Iran

Objective: To determine the incidence, epidemiology and demography of acute animal bites referred to Abdanan health centers in the years 2009 to 2013. Methods: This study was a descriptive analytical research. Questionnaires for each case of acute animal bite was completed. Data about age, gender, kind of animal, residency, site of bite, etc taken from Abdanan health centers were analyzed. Data were analyzed in SPSS by using descriptive statistics. Results: Total number of exposed persons to acute animal bites was reported 67 in 2009 and 69 in 2013. The average incidence rate was 1.2 per 1 000 population. Bites were frequent among the age group of 20-30 years. Most of the cases were self-employment. Around 83.8% of cases were bitten by dogs. Of total 309 studied patients, 73.8% were male. Feet (71.5%) and hands (22.7%) were the most common body part affected. About 53.1% of cases were in rural population. Conclusions: Dogs seems to play a very important role in the epidemiology of rabies in Abdanan, Iran. No cases of human rabies were observed in our study. This may be because of increasing public awareness and the upgrading of health and treatment centers, all of which in study region provide post-exposure anti-rabies treatment including vaccination, immunoglobulin and wound washing.

Epidemiological analysis of snakebite victims in southwestern Iran

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of snakebites and associated epidemiologic factors in Khorram-shahr County,Iran,between 2013 and 2017.Methods:This was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study.Information was collected and recorded via questionnaires.Snakebite data included gender,age,occurrence regions,bite site,time of being bitten,month and season.Data were analyzed by Chi-square and t-tests with SPSS version 18.Results:A total of 102 cases of snakebites occurred in Khorram-shahr County of Khuzestan Province,southwestern Iran.There were 75 men(73.5%)and 27 women(26.4%),without significant difference in incidence.The highest frequency of snakebites was observed in the age group of 41-50 years with 28 cases(27.4%).In total,58 cases(56.9%)occurred in urban areas and 44 cases(43.1%)in rural areas.No statistically significant difference was observed between the age groups or residential areas.Snakebites occurred in May with 19 cases(18.6%),spring with 45(44.1%)and summer with 45(44.1%).The results showed significant difference among different seasons and months of the year.Snakebites were in feet in 62 cases(60.8%)and hands in 36 cases(35.3%)which were bitten more than other organs,respectively,with significant difference among different bite sites in the body.The highest and lowest frequencies of snakebites were observed between 18:00 and 24:00 with 43 cases(42.2%)and between 6:00 and 12:00 with 14 cases(13.7%),with a significant difference among different hours of the day.Conclusions:Useful information about snakebites,venomous snakes,their hazards,prevention of bites and the importance of early hospital referral and treatment of victims should be provided to people using different educational tools.