title: Animal bites in Tehran, Iran.
abstract: Animal bites are major public health issues, not only for the risk of acquiring secondary infections but also for the possibility of contracting rabies. The objective of this study was to determine the epidemiology of animal bites in Tehran, Iran. During a three- year period, through a questionnaire- based study, 8806 bitten persons were enrolled into our study. Of these, 79.16% were males and 20.84% were females. Bites were most frequent among the age group of 20-29 years. Most cases were self employed. Upper extremities were the most frequent bite site (53.8%). The offending animals, in order of frequency were dogs, cats, squirrels, monkeys, hamsters, and other animals, responsible in 5804 (65.9%), 2241 (25.44%), 343 (3.89%), 134 (1.52%), 125 (1.41%), and 159 (1.84%) cases, respectively. We found that animal bites are still prevalent in Iran and thus preventive measures and health education are required for the public.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eslamifar
authors.forename: Amitis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramezani
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Razzaghi-Abyaneh
authors.forename: Vida
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fallahian
authors.forename: Parisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mashayekhi
authors.forename: Mahboob
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hazrati
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Askari
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fayaz
authors.forename: Arezoo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aghakhani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies