Project description:YouTube videos of dog bites present an unexplored opportunity to observe dog bites directly. We recorded the context of bites, bite severity, victim and dog characteristics for 143 videos and for 56 videos we coded human and dog behaviour before the bite. Perceived bite severity was derived from visual aspects of the bite. Associations between bite severity and victim, dog and context characteristics were analysed using a Bayesian hierarchical regression model. Human and dog behaviour before the bite were summarised with descriptive statistics. No significant differences in bite severity were observed between contexts. Only age of the victim was predictive of bite severity: adults were bitten more severely than infants and infants more severely than children. Non-neutral codes describing dog body posture and some displacement and appeasement behaviours increased approximately 20 seconds before the bite and humans made more tactile contacts with dogs 21 seconds before the bite. This analysis can help to improve understanding of context in which bites occur and improve bite prevention by highlighting observable human and dog behaviours occurring before the bite.
Project description:The proposition posed is that the value of amino acid conjugation to the organism is not, as in the traditional view, to use amino acids for the detoxication of aromatic acids. Rather, the converse is more likely, to use aromatic acids that originate from the diet and gut microbiota to assist in the regulation of body stores of amino acids, such as glycine, glutamate, and, in certain invertebrates, arginine, that are key neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS). As such, the amino acid conjugations are not so much detoxication reactions, rather they are homeostatic and neuroregulatory processes. Experimental data have been culled in support of this hypothesis from a broad range of scientific and clinical literature. Such data include the low detoxication value of amino acid conjugations and the Janus nature of certain amino acids that are both neurotransmitters and apparent conjugating agents. Amino acid scavenging mechanisms in blood deplete brain amino acids. Amino acids glutamate and glycine when trafficked from brain are metabolized to conjugates of aromatic acids in hepatic mitochondria and then irreversibly excreted into urine. This process is used clinically to deplete excess nitrogen in cases of urea cycle enzymopathies through excretion of glycine or glutamine as their aromatic acid conjugates. Untoward effects of high-dose phenylacetic acid surround CNS toxicity. There appears to be a relationship between extent of glycine scavenging by benzoic acid and psychomotor function. Glycine and glutamine scavenging by conjugation with aromatic acids may have important psychosomatic consequences that link diet to health, wellbeing, and disease.
Project description:The aim of this study was to characterize and report the epidemiological data regarding pediatric facial dog bites. For this study, a retrospective chart review was used. This study was performed at a large tertiary pediatric hospital. All children younger than 18 years who sought medical attention after a facial dog bite between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2008, were included. Demographic and epidemiologic data were collected and analyzed. A total of 537 children were identified. The average age was 4.59 ± 3.36 years, with a slight male preponderance (52.0%). The majority of dog bites occurred in children 5 years of age or younger (68.0%). Almost all (89.8%) of the dogs were known to the children. When circumstances surrounding the bite were documented, over half (53.2%) of the cases were provoked. The most common breeds were mixed breed (23.0%), Labrador retriever (13.7%), Rottweiler (4.9%), and German shepherd (4.4%). Inpatient treatment was required in 121 (22.5%) patients with an average length of stay of 2.96 ± 2.77 days. Children 5 years or younger were more likely to be hospitalized than older children. Children 5 years old and younger are at high risk for being bitten in the face by a familiar dog and are more likely to require hospitalization than older children. Certain dog breeds are more likely to bite, and there is often a history of provocation. There is a tremendous financial and psychosocial burden associated with dog bites, and prevention strategies should focus on education with the aid of public policies and better documentation and reporting systems.
Project description:Despite being an important public health issue, particularly due to rabies, dog bites and associated risk factors have rarely been assessed by health services from a One Health perspective. Accordingly, the present study aimed to assess dog biting and associated demographic and socioeconomic risk factors in Curitiba, the eighth-largest Brazilian city with approximately 1.87 million people, based on the post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) rabies reports between January/2010 and December/2015. The total of 45,392 PEP reports corresponded to an average annual incidence of 4.17/1000 habitants, mainly affecting white (79.9%, 4.38/1000 population), males (53.1%, 4.81/1000 population), and children aged 0-9 years (20.1%, 6.9/1000 population), with severe accidents associated with older victims (p < 0.001) and mainly caused by dogs known to the victims. An increase of USD 100.00 in the median neighborhood income was associated with a 4.9% (95% CI: 3.8-6.1; p < 0.001) reduction in dog bites. In summary, dog biting occurrence was associated with victims' low income, gender, race/color, and age; severe accidents were associated with elderly victims. As dog bites have been described as multifactorial events involving human, animal, and environmental factors, the characteristics presented herein should be used as a basis to define mitigation, control, and prevention strategies from a One Health perspective.
Project description:In rabies endemic areas, appropriate management of dog bites is critical in human rabies prevention. Victims must immediately wash bite wound for 15 minutes with water, soap, and a disinfectant before seeking medical care. This study investigated the epidemiology of dog bites and the determinants of compliance to these pre-clinical guidelines requirements among dog bite victims from high rabies-burden areas of Wakiso and Kampala, Uganda. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study design was used. Quantitative data were collected from 376 dog-bite patients at two healthcare facilities. Qualitative data were also collected through 13 in-depth interviews with patients, healthcare workers, herbalists, and veterinarians. Qualitative data were analyzed using a deductive thematic approach. Generalized linear models were used to determine factors associated with compliance. Nearly half (190, 51%) of the patients were from Wakiso District and 293 (77.9%) had grade II wounds. Most of the wounds (171, 45.5%) were on the legs. Two-thirds of the bites occurred in public places. Only 70 (19%) of the bite patients had complied with pre-clinical guidelines. Nearly half of the patients had applied substances that were not recommended e.g. herbs (47/193), antiseptics (46/193), "black stone" (25/193), and unknown creams (10/193). Factors negatively associated with compliance included: being aged 15 years or older, adjPR = 0.70 (0.47-0.92) and knowing the dog owner, adjPR = 0.65 (0.36-0.93). However, attainment of secondary or higher education, adjPR = 1.76 (1.24-3.79), being in employment, adjPR = 1.48 (1.09-2.31), perception that the dog was sick, adjPR = 1.47 (1.02-2.72) and knowledge about the dog's subsequent victim(s) adjPR = 0.35 (0.17-0.70) were positively associated with compliance. High occurrence of dog bites in public places by free-roaming dogs suggests the need for deliberate promotion of responsible dog ownership. Additionally, targeted health education may be required to improve the low compliance to pre-clinical guidelines.
Project description:Dog bites are a significant public health issue. There is no comprehensive study of dog bite demographics. It was the purpose of this study to perform such an analysis across the US. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program data for the years 2005 through 2013 was accessed; dog bite injuries were extracted and analyzed. Statistical analyses were performed with SUDAAN 11.0.01™ software to account for the weighted, stratified nature of the data. Incidence values were calculated using population data from the US Census Bureau. A P < 0.05 was considered significant. There was an average 337,103 ED visits each year for dog bites. The average age was 28.9 years; 52.6% were male and 47.4% female. The bites were located on the upper extremity in 47.3%, head/neck in 26.8%, lower extremity in 21.5%, and trunk in 4.4%. Younger patients had more bites involving the head/neck, while older patients the upper extremity. More occurred in the summer and on weekends and 80.2% occurred at home. Hospital admission occurred in 1.7%. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the odds of admission was solely dependent upon the age group. The OR for admission was 11.03 [4.68, 26.01] for those >85 years of age, 4.88 [2.89, 8.24] 75-84 years, and 2.79 [1.77, 4.39] those ≤4 years of age, with the 10-14 year age group the reference group. The average annual incidence was 1.1 per 1,000, and was slightly higher in males (1.18 vs 1.02 per 1,000). The estimated cost was at least 400 million US$ per year. Potential prevention strategies are educational programs directed at both children and parents/caretakers outlining the responsibilities of owning a dog. This information can be disseminated in health care facilities, radio/TV/Internet venues, and dog kennels/shelters.
Project description:BackgroundTo characterize pediatric dog bite injuries presenting to US children's hospitals and identify factors associated with clinically significant injuries.MethodsWe performed a multicenter observational study from 26 pediatric hospitals between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2020, including patients ≤ 18 years with dog bites, consolidating together encounters from patients with multiple encounters within 30 days as a single episode of care. We characterized diagnoses and procedures performed in these patients. We used generalized linear mixed models to identify factors associated with a composite outcome that we term clinically significant injuries (defined as admission, operating room charge, sedation, fractures/dislocations, intracranial/eye injury, skin/soft tissue infection, or in-hospital mortality).Results68,833 episodes were included (median age 6.6 years [interquartile range 3.5-10.4 years], 55.5% male) from 67,781 patients. We identified 16,502 patients (24.0%) with clinically significant injuries, including 6653 (9.7%) admitted, 5080 (7.4%) managed in the operating room, 11,685 (17.0%) requiring sedation, 493 (0.7%) with a skull fracture, 32 (0.0%) with a fracture in the neck or trunk, 389 (0.6%) with a fracture of the upper limb, 51 (0.1%) with a fracture in the lower limb, 15 (0.0%) with dislocations, 66 (0.1%) with an intracranial injury and 164 (0.2%) with an injury to the eyeball, 3708 (5.4%) with skin/soft tissue infections, and 5 (0.0%) with in-hospital mortality. In multivariable analysis, younger age (0-4 years, 5-9 years, and 10-14 years relative to 15-18 years), weekday injuries, and an income in the second and third quartiles (relative to the lowest quartile) had higher odds of clinically significant injuries. Black patients (relative to White), Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, and private insurance status (relative to public insurance) had lower odds of clinically important injuries. When evaluating individual components within the composite outcome, most followed broader trends.ConclusionDog bites are an important mechanism of injury encountered in children's hospitals. Using a composite outcome measure, we identified younger, White, non-Hispanic children at higher risk of clinically significant injuries. Findings with respect to race and ethnicity and dog bite injuries warrant further investigation. Results can be used to identify populations for targeted prevention efforts to reduce severe dog bite injuries.
Project description:Although Indonesia has been rabies-infected since at least the 1880s, some islands remain rabies-free, such as Lombok. However, due to its adjacency to rabies-infected islands such as Bali and Flores, there is considerable risk of a rabies incursion. As part of a rabies risk assessment project, surveys were conducted to estimate the size of the dog population and to describe dog management practices of households belonging to different ethnic groups. A photographic-recapture method was employed and the number of unowned dogs was estimated. A total of 400 dog owning households were interviewed, 300 at an urban site and 100 at a rural site. The majority of the interviewed households belonged to the Balinese ethnic group. Owned dogs were more likely male, and non-pedigree or local breed. These households kept their dogs either fully restricted, semi-free roaming or free-roaming but full restriction was reported only at the urban site. Dog bite cases were reported to be higher at the urban site, and commonly affected children/young adults to 20 years old and males. A higher number of unowned dogs was observed at the urban site than at the rural site. Data generated within these surveys can inform rabies risk assessment models to quantify the probability of rabies being released into Lombok and resulting in the infection of the local dog population. The information gained is critical for efforts to educate dog owners about rabies, as a component of preparedness to prevent the establishment of rabies should an incursion occur.