Decadal trend analysis and epidemiological pattern of animal bite cases in a tertiary care hospital of North India.

Background: Animal bites to humans are a public health problem, posing a potential threat of rabies to over 3.3 billion people worldwide. Knowledge regarding various epidemiological aspects of animal bite cases will be helpful to achieve the target of rabies elimination. In this regard, this study aimed to determine the trend and epidemiology of animal bite cases in a tertiary care hospital of North India. Materials and Methods: The secondary data analysis of records was conducted in Antirabies Clinic of BPS Government Medical College for Women Khanpur Kalan, Sonepat. Nearly all the facilities for animal bite management are available in this antirabies clinic hence a reasonable coverage is expected. The data of cases reported in 10 years (January 2012 to December 2021) were analyzed after seeking necessary permission from the authorities. Results: A total of 35,427 new cases of animal bite were reported in the decade. After interpretation of data from 2012 to 2021, the frequency of cases showed a rising trend from the year 2012, with the highest number of cases in the year 2019, while animal bite cases were maximum in month of March followed by February. There were almost two-third number of cases in males as compared to one-third females, with highest number of cases being in rural area. Conclusion: Animal bite cases are rising over the years. Most of the animal bite cases occurred during the start of the spring season, commonly occurred in children and males. We need to increase the frequency of information, education, and communication activities to properly handle animal bite so that rabies can be prevented and the target of rabies elimination by 2030 can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]