A retrospective study of dog bite cases reported to some hospitals in Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Dog bite exposes victims to many potential zoonoses, particularly rabies which is feared because of its extremely high fatality rate of almost 100%. This study was carried out to evaluate the incidences of dog bite reported to some human hospitals in Plateau State, Nigeria and to provide data that will help in planning of rabies control programmes in the state. Information retrieved from the hospitals include date of bite, location of bite, age and sex of the victims for the period of January, 2007 to December, 2016. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data and the results were presented in tables. A total of 884 dog bite cases were reported in 9 hospitals visited across the state; the highest cumulative number (85 cases) was reported in April followed by 84 cases in May and 81 cases in October. Furthermore, there were more male (53.39%) victims of dog bite than female (46.61%) victims as well as more adult (53.51%) victims than children (46.49%) below 15 years of age. It can be concluded from this study that there is a high incidence of dog bite cases in the state. The presence of two popular dog markets located in Jos South and Kanke Local Government Areas of Plateau state could possibly play a significant role in the high incidences of dog bite cases recorded in this study. Hospitals in Plateau State should endeavor to improve on their record keeping of dog bite cases as this will help health workers in planning of rabies control programmes.

Keywords: Dog Bite, Hospital, Plateau State, Retrospective Study