Epidemiology Of Animal Bites In

Zarqa – Jordan 2007

Dr Ghazi Faisal Sharkas

Jordan FETP

B.Majeed 1, S.Abdalla 2, R.Haddadin 3,

M.Al-rashdan 4
1 CDC 2,3,4 Jordan MOH
 Background
• Animal bites represent a major public
health problem especially in developing
countries.
• Dogs, cats, rodents and other animals are
incriminated.
• Bites can cause a wide range of tissue
damage and serious infection including
tetanus and rabies.
• According to WHO 10 million people are
bitten by animals each year, of them
50,000 die annually due to rabies.
• The incidence of animal bites in Jordan
had increased from 28.6 in 2003 to 50.8
per 100,000 in 2007.
• Number of animals infected with rabies
also increased, fifty seven biting animals
mainly dogs were tested and found
positive for rabies in 2007.
• A national campaign to control wild animals
and stray dogs was launched in Jordan in
2007,and animal bites are included in the
surveillance system of the directorate of
communicable diseases.

• Despite strict control measures, one case of

human rabies occurred in Jordan in
2007,which was the only case in the last 10
years.
 , Jordan Cases of Animal Bite, Week
Compared to the upper & lower threshold during the last
Cumulative: 5 years
2191

140

120

100

80
Cases

118

60
95
87

86
84

83
81

81
40

77

77
73
71

68
66
65
64

62
61

60

59

59
58

58
57

56

56
50

50
49
48

46
45
41

20

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
Week
2009 Upper threshold Lower threshold 2008
L.threshold:5'th Percentile
 Objectives
1. To estimate the incidence of animal
bites in Zarqa governorate.

2. To explore the epidemiologic features

of afflicted victims and bite
characteristics.
 Methodology
• This study was conducted in Zarqa
governorate, its population is about
850,000and accounts for 15% of Jordan
population, with an area of 5300 squared
kilometers.
• In this cross sectional study we utilized
surveillance data of animal bites reported
to Zarqa health directorate in 2007.
• Epi info version 3.5.1 was used for
analysis.
Results
Animal bites in Zarqa 2007 by gender

Males
87%

Males

Females

Females
13%
 Animal bites in Zarqa 2007 by age groups (years)

35% 33%

30%

25%
20%
20%
17%
15% 15% Percent
15%

10%

5%

0%
0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-100

Age range:2-82 years

Median age:17 years
 Trend of animal bites in Zarqa by month of 2007
35

30
Reported cases

25

20

15

10
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
 Animal bites in Zarqa in 2007 by kind of biting animal

86%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40% Percentage

30%
20% 8%
3% 3%
10%
0%
Dog Cat Rat Other
Kind of biting animal
 Animal bites in Zarqa 2007 by site of bite
50%
44%
45%

40%
36%
35%
Reported cases

30%

25%

20%

15%
10%
10%
6%
4%
5%

0%
Lower limbs Upper limbs Trunk Head&Face Other
Site of bite
Animal bites in Zarqa governorate by district in 2007

District not reported, 3%

Zarqa
Rusaifa
Other, 22% Adduleel
Zarqa, 34%
Sukhneh
Other
Sukhneh, 8%
District not reported

Adduleel, 13%
Rusaifa, 24%
• Animal bites in Zarqa in 2007 accounted
for 8% of total bites in Jordan.

• Animal bites commonly occur in rural

regions, but in Zarqa about 60% of animal
bites were in urban regions possibly
because 90% of Zarqa population lives in
Zarqa and Rusaifa cities.

• Most of bite victims were males, it seems

that they stay more outside home ,and that
they are more provocative to animals.
• Adolescents and young adults were more
affected than children and elderly people.

• Sixty percent of bites occurred in spring and

summer (seasonality), probably because
people exist more outside home in this
period.

• Results of this study was consistent with

other studies in that dogs are the main biting
animals and that the lower limbs are the
mainly affected site.
 Conclusion and
recommendations
• Animal bites are still a public health problem
in Jordan and demands extra efforts to be
controlled.

• The national campaign to get rid of stray

dogs should be thorough and continuous not
to overlook stray dogs in urban regions.
• This study revealed that adolescents and
young adults were more affected than
children, which is controversial to other
studies, this needs further investigation.
 Acknowledgements
Special thanks to :
• Dr Adel Belbeisi
• Dr Bassam Hijjawi
• Dr Ahmed Abu-Slieh
• Dr Muhannad Nsour
• Dr Sami Sheikh
• Dr Nabil Hijjawi
• Zarqa health directorate
• Mr. Bassam Jarrar
• Colleagues in Jordan FETP
THANK YOU