Animal attack

1941 poster for the Cleveland Division of Health encouraging dog bite victims to report dog bites to the proper authorities

Animal attacks are violent attacks caused by non-human animals against humans, one of the most common being bites. These attacks are a cause of human injuries and fatalities worldwide. According to the 2012 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook, 56% of United States citizens owned a pet. In the United States in 1994, approximately 4.7 million people were bitten by dogs. The frequency of animal attacks varies with geographical location, as well as hormonal secretion. Gonad glands found on the anterior side of the pituitary gland secrete androgen and estrogen hormones. Animals with high levels of these hormones, which depending on the species can be a seasonal occurrence, such as during rutting season, tend to be more aggressive, which leads to a higher frequency of attacks not only to humans but among themselves. In the United States, a person is more likely to be killed by a domesticated dog than they are to die from being hit by lightning according to the National Safety Council.

Animal attacks have been identified as a major public health problem. In 1997, it was estimated that up to 2 million animal bites occur each year in the United States. Injuries caused by animal attacks result in thousands of fatalities worldwide every year. "Unprovoked attacks occur when the animal approaches and attacks a person(s) who is the principal attractant, for example, predation on humans ..." All causes of death are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each year. Medical injury codes are used to identify specific cases. The World Health Organization uses identical coding, though it is unclear whether all countries keep track of animal-related fatalities. Though animals, excluding some tigers, do not regularly hunt humans, there is concern that these incidents are "bad for many species 'public image'."

Epidemiology and injuries

Animal bites are the most common form of injury from animal attacks. The U.S. estimated annual count of animal bites is 250,000 human bites, 1 to 2 million dog bites, 400,000 cat bites, and 45,000 bites from snakes. Bites from skunks, horses, squirrels, rats, rabbits, pigs, and monkeys may be up to one percent of bite injuries. Unprovoked pet ferret attacks have caused serious facial injuries. Non-domesticated animals, although assumed to be more common, especially as a cause of rabies infection, make up less than one percent of reported bite wounds. Bites to the right arm are the most likely due to defensive reactions when the victim uses their dominant arm. The most common location for fatal bites is on the individual's head. It is estimated that three-quarters of bites to humans are to the arms or legs. Bites to the face constitute only ten percent of total bites. Children aged ten and younger suffer two-thirds of reported bite injuries. Bite injuries are often the result of an animal attack, including instances when a human attacks another human. Human bites are the third most frequent type of bite after dog and cat bites. Dog bites are commonplace, with children the most frequently bitten and the face and scalp the most common targets.

Infections

Animal bites carry an increased risk of infection due to their exposure to rabies and different bacteria that animals have in their oral cavity. Microbiological studies are carried out to determine some of these infections. Frequently these infections are polymicrobial with different mixtures of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Some of the bacteria identified by the remains that are maintained in the bites and by exposure to other variables and change of physical environment are: Pasturella spp., Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Moraxella, Corynebacterium, Neisseria, Fusobacterium, Bacteroides, Posphuomonoa, Capnocytophaga canimorsus, and Prevotella.

Treatments

Treatment for those who have been attacked depends on the injuries. Though trauma may be addressed first, subsequent infections are also treated with appropriate antibiotics. The use of prophylactic antibiotics can significantly reduce the risk of a serious infection in the lesion. It is important to visit a doctor if the bite is severe. Up to three-quarters of dog bites happen to those younger than 20 years old. In the United States, the costs associated with dog bites are estimated at over $1 billion annually. The age groups that suffer most from dog bites are children 5 to 9 years old. Often bites go unreported and receive no medical treatment. Up to one percent of pediatric emergency room visits are for animal bites. This is more frequent during the summer months. Up to five percent of children receiving emergency care for dog bites are hospitalized. Bites typically occur in the late afternoon and early evening. Girls are bitten more frequently by cats than by dogs, while boys are bitten by dogs two times more often than are girls. To prevent serious and even fatal infections, rabies vaccines for both humans and non-human animals are recommended, even if the person is not directly exposed to the infection. In addition, it is essential to know and consider the probability of transmission, the animal that caused the bite, the type and severity of the injury, and the age and overall health of the victim. In 1936, amputation was required in a third of cases in which treatment was delayed for 24 hours or longer.

Medical codes for animal attacks

Injuries resulting from encounters with animals occur with sufficient frequency to require the use of medical codes by clinicians and insurance companies to document such encounters. The ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes are used for the purpose of clearly identifying diseases, their causes, injuries in the United States. Clinicians use these codes to quantify the medical condition and its causes and to bill insurance companies for the treatment required as a result of encounters with animals.

Code	Description
W53	Contact with rodent
W54	Contact with dog
W55	Contact with other mammals
W56	Contact with non-venomous marine animal
W57	Bitten or stung by non-venomous insect and other non-venomous arthropods
W58	Contact with crocodile or alligator
W59	Contact with other non-venomous reptiles
W61	Contact with birds (domestic) (wild)
W62	Contact with non-venomous amphibians
Reference:

Notable deaths

Year	Name	Age	Details
ca 1000 BC	Parikshit	n.a.	Bit by a snake
30 BC	Cleopatra	39 years	Bit by a snake (suicide)
519	Conleth	~60 years	Killed by wolves
912	Oleg the Wise	n.a.	Bit by a snake
ca 1500	Lakṣmīpriyā	n.a.	Bit by a snake
1528	Tenali Rama	47 years	Bit by a snake
1582	Crocodiles in Pskov	various	Number of crocodiles escaped from captivity to a local river, then reportedly attacked and devoured many city residents
1787	Two-Headed Boy of Bengal	4 years	Bit by a snake
1852	HMS Birkenhead	various	Hundreds of sharks attacked sinking ship sailors. A few hundreds men were killed
1898	Lions of Tsavo	various	A pair of lions attacked rail workers' camps for months. Killed 30-125 men
1913	Carl Hagenbeck	57 years	Bit by a snake
1920	King Alexander of Greece	27 years	Monkey bite
1932	Bill Pickett	61 years	killed by a horse kick
1942	USS Juneau	various	Sharks attacked sinking ship sailors, including remaining Sullivan brothers
1945	USS Indianapolis	various	Hundreds of sharks attacked sinking ship sailors. A few dozen to 150 men were killed
1945	Battle of Ramree Island	various	Number of saltwater crocodiles attacked retreating Japanese soldiers. A few to hundreds were killed
1948	Grace Olive Wiley	65 years	Bitten by a snake
1950	Kevin Budden	20 years	Bitten by a taipan snake
1955	George Hensley	74 years	Bit by a snake
1957	Karl Patterson Schmidt	67 years	Bit by a snake
1975	Robert Mertens	81 years	Bit by a snake
1980	Azaria Chamberlain	2 months	Attacked by a dingo
1982	Jean Batten	73 years	Infection from a dog bite
1993	John Pickard	80 years	killed by a bull on his family farm
1994	Allen Campbell	37 years	Crushed by circus elephant Tyke
1994	Rick Lomba	44 years	Attacked by Bengal Tiger
2001	Joseph Bruno Slowinski	38 years	Bitten by a Suzhen's krait
2001	Diane Whipple	33 years	Attacked by 2 dogs
2001	Jacky Boxberger	51 years	Attacked by an elephant on a safari
2003	Timothy Treadwell	46 years	Devoured by a bear
2003	Vitaly Nikolayenko	65 years	Mauled by a bear
2004	Boonreung Buachan	35 years	Bit by a cobra during a show
2005	Kenton Joel Carnegie	22 years	Killed by wolves
2006	Richard Root	68 years	Killed by a crocodile
2006	Steve Irwin	44 years	Killed by a stingray during a diving expedition
2006	Ali Khan Samsudin	48 years	Bitten by a king cobra
2007	Surinder Singh Bajwa	44 years	Attacked by a group of rhesus macaques at his home and fell from a first-floor balcony
2008	Stephan Miller	39 years	killed by a bear while making a promotional video
2009	Alexis Martínez	29 years	killed by an orca (named Keto) in an aquarium
2009	Taylor Mitchell	19 years	Coyote attack
2010	Dawn Brancheau	40 years	Killed by orca Tilikum
2011	Horatio Chapple	17 years	Killed by a polar bear on an Arctic expedition
2011	Mathieu Schiller	32 years	Killed by a shark
2013	Noah and Connor Barthe	4 & 6 years	Strangled by a friend's father's pet African rock python
2014	Jamie Coots	42 years	Bit by a rattlesnake
2015	Katherine Chappell	29 years	Killed by a lion while visiting a park
2017	Akbar Salubiro	25 years	Killed and swallowed by a reticulated python

See also

• 2010 Sharm el-Sheikh shark attacks
• 2013 New Brunswick python attack
• CrocBITE
• Fatal dog attacks in the United States
• Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916
• Kali River goonch attacks
• Kenton Joel Carnegie wolf attack
• List of deadliest animals to humans
• St. James Davis Chimpanzee Attack
• Porphyrios (whale), a whale that killed Roman Sailors for half a century.

Further reading

• Anderson, Knenneth, et al., "The Man-Eater of Jowlagiri", from Nine Man-Eaters and One Rogue, 1955
• Anitei, Stefan. "The Limits of the Human Nose: How much can a human smell?" Softpedia. 22 January 2007. 17 November 2008.
• Batin, Christopher. "Bear Attacks!" Outdoor Life 210.6 (2003): 46.
• Brandt, Anthony. "Attack". Outdoor Life 197.1 (1996): 52.
• Cardall, Taylor Y. and Peter Rosen. "Grizzly Bear Attack". The Journal of Emergency Medicine 24.3 (2003): 331–333.
• Driscoll, Jamus. "Bears on the Rampage". Outdoor Life 197.2 (1996): 20.
• Egerton, L. ed. 2005. Encyclopaedia of Australian wildlife. Reader's Digest ISBN 1-876689-34-X
• Fergus, Charles. Wild Guide: Bears. Mechanicsburg, PA; Stackpole Books, 2005.
• Guo, Shuzhong, et al., "Human facial allotransplantation: a 2-year follow-up study". The Lancet 372.9639 (2008): 631–638.
• Masterson, Linda. Living with Bears. Masonville, CO; PixyJack Press, LLC, 2006.
• Linnell, John D.C., et al.,The Fear of Wolves – review of wolf attacks on humans
• Ward, Paul and Suzanne Kynaston. Wild Bears of the World. United Kingdom: Cassell plc, 1995
• Whitman, David. "The Return of the Grizzly". Atlantic Monthly 286.3 (2000): 26–31.

External links

• NCIPC bibliography of articles on dog bites Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Animal bites, World Health Organization
• CrocBITE Archived 18 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• "Fatal Alligator Attacks". Southeastern Outdoors. Retrieved 31 March 2006.