Epidemiological Characteristic of Animal-bite Cases in Mazandaran, 2004-2011

Background and Rabies is a zoonosis which is considered as a public health priority. This study was conducted to evaluate the epidemiological characteristic of animal-bite cases attending Rabies Prevention Center affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences between 2004 to 2011. In this cross-sectional study، all cases of animal bite recorded at the Rabies Prevention Center from 2009 to2011were studied. Data was analyzed according to demographic، epidemiological and clinical information through descriptive and analytic statistics using SPSS V. 20. During the study period the registered cases of animal bite were 25869 in Mazandaran province. The rate of five-year animal bite was 203. 4 per100000 (79. 9% in male and 20. 1% in female، 62. 4% occurred in rural and 37. 6% occurred in urban areas). The cases were mostly aged 20-30 years of old. Most cases were bitten by dogs (83. 9%) which occurred on hands (46. 3%). High incidence of animal bites in Mazandaran province requires effective planning and providing more training to reduce the rate of this health problem.