title: Fatal dog bites in New Zealand.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine fatalities from dog bites in New Zealand and review New Zealand's most recent fatalities, and the commonalities they show with dog attacks both in New Zealand and overseas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information was collated from past studies, international reviews, and press coverage and then summarised. This information was then applied and added to a forensic review of the dog bite-related fatality recorded in 2004 in Dunedin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dogs are no different the world over. There have been five confirmed dog bite-related fatalities in New Zealand. Dog attacks in New Zealand strongly resemble those from other developed countries. Indeed similar situations increase the odds of an attack. Awareness of these situations may make avoidance of dog bites easier.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Otago, PO Box 647, Dunedin. david.healey@dent.otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Healey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology