Dog Bite Rates and Biting Dog Breeds in Texas, 1995-1997

摘要

Almost 5 million people a year are bitten by dogs in the United States. The majority of dog bites occur in children under 15, and approximately 18 deaths each year are dog-bite related. Numerous studies have provided statistics on the incidence rates of dog bites for the United States, but incidence rates have not been published for any areas of Texas in over 20 years. In addition, no published studies have looked at the relationship between biting dogs and their breed prevalence in Texas. The first aim of this study was to summarize descriptive characteristics of biting dogs and dog bite victims in Texas from 1995 through 1997 using the Texas Department of Health severe animal bite database and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District animal bite database. The second aim was to determine dog bite rates in Texas populations using data from both databases. The third aim was to determine annual bite rates for commonly biting dog breeds in the San Antonio area. The fourth aim was to discuss dog bite report collection methods for both databases and recommend improvements. The estimated sex-adjusted annual rate of 109 bites per 100,000 Texas population was only 6% of the expected rate based upon national statistics. The reported annual severe bite rate in Texas was even lower, at 3.1 per 100,000 (0.2% of the expected rate). Biting dog and victim characteristics from both databases were very similar to published national statistics, but the relatively small numbers of bites reported to either database make it difficult to guide Texas public health practice based purely upon local bite data.