Epidemiology of Dog Bite Incidents in Chile: Factors Related to the Patterns of Human-Dog Relationship

Abstract

Dog bites are one of the main public health problems. They produce important consequences for those who suffer them (physical and psychological injuries, secondary infections, sequelae, risk of transmission of zoonoses and surgeries, among others). The objective of this study was to characterize epidemiologically the incidents of bites in Chile and the patterns of human-dog relationship involved. The records analyzed in this article were obtained from bitten patients who attended the main public health facilities in Chile during the period 17 September 2017 and 17 September 2018: In the period studied, 17,299 animal bites were recorded; however, only 7220 (41.74%) cases were analyzed in which the offending species could be identified. Of the bites analyzed, 6533 were caused by dogs (90.48%). Of these, 41.05% were caused by medium-sized dogs. Most bites were caused by dogs of mixed breeds (55.99%), followed by dogs of the German Shepherd breed (8.50%). Most of the dogs that bit were known to the victim (99.95%) and most of the attacks occurred indoors (57.48%). Although dog bite records have improved in Chile, it would be useful to also include background information on the context in which the incident occurred, which would be very useful for developing effective bite prevention programs.

Epidemiology of dog bites to people in Uruguay (2010–2020)

“…This pattern was reversed at older ages when females were affected in larger proportions. These results coincide with other studies like the one from Chile, which found that the highest frequency of dog bites for females was for the 40 and over age group (Barrios et al, 2021).…”

“…France, the United States and Chile (Barrios et al, 2021;Overall & Love, 2001;Quirk, 2012;Rosado et al, 2009;Sarcey et al, 2017), the under 14 years of age group received most bites. The behaviour of children, lack of understanding of dogs' body language prior to the aggression and lack of adult supervision are some of the reasons that may explain the higher incidence of bites in this age group (Overall & Love, 2001;Quirk, 2012).…”

“…Brazil from 2007 to 2017, but victims' age was not considered. Barrios et al (2021) reported on dog bites in Chile but covered only one yearst' worth of data. Comparing data on dog bites could be biased because of socioeconomic, demographic and sociocultural factors (Babazadeh et al, 2016;Barrios et al, 2021;Benavides et al, 2019;Overall & Love, 2001;Quirk, 2012;Rosado et al, 2009;Sarcey et al, 2017).…”

A Review and Analysis of the National Dog Population Management Program in Chile

“…Although Chile does not have canine rabies, a host of canine zoonoses [7,21,22] and dog bites [23] have had significant public health impacts. Dogs have also made their mark in online tourism blogs with a surprising number of articles, comments, and stories written by visitors to the country remarking on the astonishing number of dogs seen wandering every city of the country [24][25][26].…”

Emotions and Dog Bites: Could Predatory Attacks Be Triggered by Emotional States?

“…In recent years, many studies have been carried out in order to understand the epidemiology of dog bites. Several authors have investigated the victim features, the characteristics of biting dogs and the context in which attacks occur [3,[8][9][10]. This led to the definition of a dog bite as a multifactorial phenomenon, whose expression is regulated by genetic, physiological, developmental, environmental and social factors [4].…”