How Parents Perceive the Potential Risk of a Child-Dog Interaction

[Caution: aggressive! Dog bite injuries in clinical forensic medicine]

Younger children in particular are at risk of becoming victims of dog attacks due to their small size. Such a biting incident can fulfil various criminal offences. In order to be able to satisfy possible legal claims, the injuries should be documented by forensic medicine and thus be legally binding. Therefore, close cooperation between the treating surgeons and forensic experts is recommended. A retrospective analysis of the cases of dog bite injuries in children and adults treated by clinical forensic medicine at the University Medical Center Rostock was carried out under various aspects. Adult casualties were predominantly injured on the lower extremities. The children examined were predominantly bitten on the head, neck and face region as well as the upper extremities. Injury severity ranged from skin redness to severe substance defects with loss of body structures. The biting dog was known in about half of the cases. In order to avoid dog bites in children, parents as well as children should be trained in dealing with dogs.

Occurrence and Risk Factors of Dog Bites in Northern Indigenous Communities: A Scoping Review

The relationship between northern Indigenous people and dogs has evolved over the past years alongside events such as colonization, settlement, proliferation of snowmobiling and other socio-cultural and environmental changes. These changes have had negative impacts on this relationship, and with the endemic presence of arctic fox rabies, dog bites have become an important public health burden. The objective of this study was to synthesize the state of knowledge regarding the occurrence of dog bites and associated risk factors in the specific context of northern Indigenous communities. A scoping review was conducted in seven bibliographic databases, from June 2018 to May 2020. From this search, 257 original studies were identified and eight papers were included for final analysis. Annual occurrence of dog bites in northern Indigenous communities ranged from 0.61 to 59.6/10,000 inhabitants. Dog bites affected 27–62.9% of the population in those regions during their lifetime. Very few studies compared the occurrence of dog bites between people living in northern communities with other populations or settings, but available evidence suggests that Indigenous people living in northern communities are at higher risk of dog bites than the rest of the population. Several individual and environmental risk factors were identified in the selected studies, although the strength of evidence varied significantly. Age (children) and gender (male) were well documented individual risk factors. Other factors, such as organizational barriers to dog management and lack of access to veterinary services, were identified and discussed by several authors. The results of this study support concerns about the higher risk of bites in northern Indigenous communities, and underscore the urgent need for more research into the contextual and environmental factors that impact the mitigation of these risks.

Epidemiological profile of dog attacks to patients under 14 years old assisted at the pediatric referral emergency unit of a tertiary hospital in Campinas, Brazil

INTRODUCTION

Accidents involving dog attacks are very common, which makes this type of accident a global public health issue. The estimates point to 20% of the victims of such accidents seeking care in health units, and half of them being children. In addition to acute injuries, dog attacks might result in fractures, infections, scars, and psychological traumas. This study aimed to describe the epidemiological profile of dog attacks to children under 14 years old assisted in a pediatric emergency service in Brazil.

METHODS

The database of the Information and Toxicological Assistance Center of Campinas was surveyed to identify cases of children under 14 years old assisted after a dog attack in a 9-years period. Demographic data, number and type of lesions, type of exposure, part of the body affected, dog origin and condition, and the accident location and cause were analyzed. The data were presented in a descriptive way, and the age groups were classified as follows: 0-3 years old, 4-6 years old, and 7-14 years old. The different age groups were compared one to another regarding the markers evaluated using the chi-square test and the Fisher's exact test. A 0.05 alpha was adopted in all analyses.

RESULTS

The number of children assisted in the study period totaled 1,012. The 7-14-year-old group was the most affected (n = 498; 49.2%), male patients were also majority (n = 660; 65.2%). Most injuries were found on the head/neck area (n = 378; 37.4%). However, the older the patients were, the higher the frequency of lesions on upper and lower limbs was, as well as attacks occurred in external environments, thus involving animals that could not be observed. A significant increase in accidents with provoked causes was observed in younger patients.

CONCLUSION

Accidents involving dog attacks are more likely to happen among boys. Younger children run higher risks of becoming victims of these accidents inside homes, being attacked by pets, and showing a greater incidence of head and neck lesions. Older children present more injuries on their limbs, which are caused by dogs that cannot be observed.