During 1996, a total of 786 severe animal attacks or bites were voluntarily
reported to the Zoonosis Control Division of the Texas Department of Health
by local health departments, law enforcement agencies, animal control agencies,
and emergency health care providers. "Severe attack" is defined as one
in which the animal repeatedly bites or vigorously shakes its human victim,
and the victim, or a person intervening, has extreme difficulty terminating
the attack. "Severe bite" is defined as a puncture or laceration made by
an animal's teeth which breaks the person's skin, resulting in a degree
of trauma which would cause most prudent and reasonable people to seek
medical care for treatment of the wound, without consideration of rabies
prevention alone. Reports were submitted from 86 of Texas' 254 counties
(Figure 1).
Species
Species reported to be involved in severe attacks
were domestic dog (681 reports, 86.6%); domestic cat (81 reports,
10.3%); rat, wolf-dog hybrid (4 reports each, 0.5%); mouse, raccoon,
skunk, and unknown (2 reports each, 0.3%); and bear, ferret, iguana, monkey,
pot-bellied pig, squirrel, wolf, and zebra, (one report each, 0.1%) (Figure
2).
Canine Breeds
When only reports involving canines (domestic dogs, wolves, and wolf-dog
hybrids) are examined, 641 reports listed the specific breed. Of the 90
breeds and breed crosses reported, 8 breeds and breed crosses constituted
53.7% of the reports (Table 1). (Note: the number of animals in various
dog breeds in the overall canine population is unknown; therefore, no conclusions
can be drawn concerning whether dogs of these 8 breeds are prone to biting
more often than other breeds or if these are merely the most popular breeds.)
No other breeds or breed crosses represented more than 3% of the reports.
Small breeds of dogs were infrequently reported because they are less likely
than large breeds to inflict severe wounds.
Animal's Sex
Of the attacks involving canines (domestic dogs, wolves, or wolf-dog
hybrids), the animal's sex was specified in 335 reports. Of the 77 female
canines, 12 (15.6%) were spayed and 65 (84.4%) were intact. Of the 258
male canines, 29 (11.2%) were castrated and 229 (88.8%) were intact (Figure
3). (Note: the
proportion of sterilized versus intact animals in the overall canine
population is unknown.)
Animal's Behavior
Of the 661 reports that listed the animal's behavior prior to the attack,
the animal was described as docile or friendly in 399 cases (60.4%). In
211 reports, the animal displayed warning signals (such as barking, growling,
hissing, or baring teeth) prior to the attack. Of the 681 reports stating
whether multiple animals were involved, 72 (10.6%) incidents involved an
attacking animal that was part of a larger group of animals while in 609
(89.4%) incidents, the animal acted alone.
Rabies Vaccination Status
Of the 767 reports involving canines (domestic dogs, wolves, or wolf-dog
hybrids) or domestic cats that indicated the animal's rabies vaccination
status, the number of vaccinated animals equalled the number of unvaccinated
animals (255). Slightly over one-third of the reports did not specify whether
the animal was vaccinated (Figure 4).
Animal Involved in Previous Attacks
Of the 519 reports in which it was definitely known whether or not
the animal was involved in previous attacks on people or animals, 392 (75.5%)
had not been involved in previous attacks and 127 (24.5%) had been involved
in previous attacks. Of the 104 reports that included information on whether
the previous attacks were against people or animals, 88 animals had been
involved in attacks against people and 16 were involved in attacks against
other animals.
Provocation/Special Circumstances
Of the 734 reports that listed whether the attack was provoked, 451
(61.4%) were considered by the reporting entity as not provoked, and 283
(38.6%) were considered provoked. No association was found between the
victim's age and whether the attack was provoked. Special circumstances
involved in the attacks included (in order of frequency) guarding, being
startled, teasing, dog fight, injury, hunger/eating, puppies/kittens, and
estrus.
Extent of Injury
When the extent of the injury was specified, 46 attack victims required
surgery, 62 required hospitalization, and 231 required sutures.
When only records in which the victim was hospitalized were reviewed,
23 dog breeds or breed crosses were included in 57 reports. Of these, 6
breeds were involved in 63.2% of the attacks (Table 2). No other breeds
or breed crosses represented more than 5% of the reports.
Victim's Sex and Age
The victim's sex was specified in 782 records. For victims 20 years
of age and younger, males were more likely than females to be victims of
an attack (59.5% versus 40.5%). For victims over the age of 20, the ratio
of males to females sustaining a severe attack reflected their respective
proportions in the overall
population.
The victim's age was listed on 772 records. Age distribution in years
is listed in Table 3. Almost half (47.4%) the victims were less than 11
years of age (Table 3). The mean was 21.7 years, the median was 11.0 years,
and the mode was 3.0 years (Figure 5). When considering the overall population
of Texas, children less than 11 years of age were 4 times more likely than
the remainder of the population to be a victim of a severe animal attack.
Table 3. Age of victims of severe animal attacks
