TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Epidemiology of animal bites and other potential rabies exposures and anti-rabies vaccine utilization in a rural area in Southern Ethiopia
JO  - Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine
A1  - Ramos, José M.
A1  - Melendez, Napoleón
A1  - Reyes, Francisco
A1  - Gudiso, Ganamo
A1  - Biru, Dejene
A1  - Fano, Gamadi
A1  - Aberra, Gulelat
A1  - Tessema, Dalu
A1  - Tesfamariam, Abraham
A1  - Balcha, Seble
A1  - Gutiérrez, Félix
SP  - 76
EP  - 79
VL  - 22
IS  - 1
N2  - The presented report describes the epidemiology of potential rabies exposures and examines the utilization of anti-rabies vaccine in a rural area of Ethiopia during a period of 43 months. A total of 683 persons (51.1% females, 73% children) with animal- related bites were included in the retrospective, registry-based study. The most common site of exposure was the leg (66.8%). In children under 8 years of age the face was more often involved than in adults (9.5% vs. 4.8%; p=0.03). The main type of exposure was a bite with bleeding (66.3%) followed by contamination of mucous membranes with saliva (19.7%). The primary sources were dogs (93.4%) followed by cats (2.6%). Children under 15 years were more likely to be exposed to dogs (94.9%) than adults (88.7%) (p=0.01). The most common way of coming in contact with animals was 'walking by' (83.9%). Children came in contact with animals while 'playing with' (10.7%) more often than adults (1.1%) (p<0.001). All the patients received an anti-rabies nervous-tissue vaccine, 99% of whom completed the vaccination course. Animal bites continue to be a problem in rural Ethiopia, mainly among children. Efforts to protect children against animal bites must be of paramount importance in preventing rabies in this population.<p />  <p>Keywords: Animal Bites; Dog Bites<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1232-1966
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5604/12321966.1141372
ID  - ref1
ER  -