Dog bites are common and can affect victims of different ages.Dog bite injuries in children are a preventable health problem.Dog bites are a serious health problem that cause both physical and emotional damage to victims and considerable cost to communities. Studies on dog bites among Iraqi children were very scarce.This study focuses on theincidence,mechanisms,and epidemiologicalcircumstances ofdog biteinjuriesin a series of pediatric patients who sustained dog bites in emergency Room. MethodologyA cross sectional study was designed to studyall cases of dog bites attending the emergency room in AL-Showmely General Hospital located in the southern district – Babylon province-Iraq, during the period ; from the January, first,2017 through theend of March, 2018.Special constructed were prepared to collect data through interview of victims or their companions who attended the emergency section during this period,ethical clearances were obtained.*A total of 320 children presented to the hospital with dog bite injuries.The incidence rate of dog bites was 275 per 100000 population, the male to female ratio was 3:1.the most common dog bite injuries took place in September44 (13.75%). Injury rates were highest in those aged 0-4,declining thereafter with age. In the 6-10, year age group141 (44.1%), most of cases living in rural district (villages). The most affected location were lower limbs, only 3.4% of the injured children had completed the post exposure anti rabies vaccine. Dog bites are common health problem among children,Children who are younger than 10 years represent the high-risk group for dog attacks. very few of them had complete the prophylactic post exposure vaccine Therefore, prevention strategies should focus on public education,training health care providers and controlling stray dogs.
Education of children and adolescents for the prevention of dog bite injuries