Animal attack

Animal attacks are violent, often fatal attacks[1]caused by animals against humans. These attacks cause of human injuries and fatalities worldwide.[2] According to the 2012 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook, 56% of United States citizens owned a pet.[3] In the United States in 1994, approximately 4.7 million people were bitten by dogs.[4] The frequency of animal attacks varies with geographical location. 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.[5]

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

Animal attacks have been identified as a major public health problem. "Unprovoked attacks occur when the animal approaches and attacks a person(s) who is the principle attractant, for example, predation on humans..."[6][7] 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.[8] 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.[9] The World Health Organization uses identical coding, though it is unclear whether all countries keep track of fatalities caused by animals. Though animals, excluding some tigers, do not regularly hunt humans, there is concern that these incidents are " ...bad for many species 'public image'.”

Injuries and infections

Bite injuries are often the consequences of an animal attack, including those instances when a human attacks another human. Human bites are the third most frequent type of bite after dog and cat bites.[10] Dog bites are commonplace, with children the most commonly bitten with the face and scalp the most common target.[11] In 1936, amputation was required in one third of cases in which treatment was delayed for 24 hours or longer.[10]

Epidemiology and treatment

Animal bites are the most common form of injury from animal attacks. The US 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.[3] Bites from skunks, horses, squirrels, rats, rabbits, pigs, and monkeys may be up to 1 percent of bite injuries. Pet ferrets attacks that were unprovoked have caused serious facial injuries. Non-domesticated animals, though assumed to be more common especially as a cause of rabies infection, make up less than one percent of reported bite wounds. When a person is bitten, it is more likely to occur on the right arm, most likely due to defensive reactions when the victims uses her or his dominant arm. Estimates are that three quarters of bites are located on the arms or legs of humans. Bites to the face of humans constitutes only 10 percent of the total. Two thirds of bite injuries in humans are suffered by children aged ten and younger. The subsequent treatment for those who have been attacked (if they survive) depends on the injuries. Though trauma may be addressed first, subsequent infections are also treated with appropriate antibiotics.[10]

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 to be more than $1 billion annually. The age groups that suffer most from dog bites are children 5 to 9 years-old. Often, bites go unreported and no medical treatment given. As many as one percent of pediatric emergency room visits are for treatment for animal bites. This is more frequent during the summer months. Up to five percent of children receiving emergency care for dog bites are then admitted to the hospital. Bites typically occur in the late afternoon and early evening. Girls are bitten more frequently by cats than they are by dogs. Boys are bitten by dogs two times more often than girls.[10]

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 nonvenomous marine animal
W57 Bitten or stung by nonvenomous insect and other nonvenomous arthropods
W58 Contact with crocodile or alligator
W59 Contact with other nonvenomous reptiles
W61 Contact with birds (domestic) (wild)
W62 Contact with nonvenomous amphibians
Reference: [12]

Notable deaths
Year Name Age Notability Details
1920 King Alexander of Greece 27 years king Monkey bite
1980 Azaria Chamberlain 2 months missing person Attacked by a dingo[13]
1994 Allen Campbell 37 years Elephant trainer Crushed by circus elephant Tyke
1996 Patricia Wyman 24 years wildlife biologist Killed by captive wolves[14]
2003 Timothy Treadwell 46 years bear enthusiast Devoured by a bear[15]
2003 Vitaly Nikolayenko 65 years photographer Mauled by a bear[16]
2006 Richard Root 68 years infectious disease expert and medical educator[17] Killed by a crocodile
2006 Steve Irwin 44 years zoologist Killed by a stingray during a diving expedition[18]
2006 Ali Khan Samsudin 48 years unknown Bitten by a king cobra.[19]
2007 Surinder Singh Bajwa 44 years Deputy mayor of Delhi Attacked by a group of Rhesus Macaques at his home and fell from a first floor balcony
2009 Taylor Mitchell 19 years singer Coyote attack[20]
2010 Dawn Brancheau 40 years SeaWorld trainer[21] Killed by killer whale Tilikum.
2011 Horatio Chapple 17 years[22] student Killed by a polar bear on an Arctic expedition

See also

References
  1. "attack | meaning of attack in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE". www.ldoceonline.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  2. "Animal bites". World Health Organization. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  3. Bula-Rudas, Fernando J.; Olcott, Jessica L. (1 October 2018). "Human and Animal Bites". Pediatrics in Review. 39 (10): 490–500. doi:10.1542/pir.2017-0212. ISSN 0191-9601. PMID 30275032.
  4. "Dog-Bite-Related Fatalities -- United States, 1995-1996". CDC. U.S. Center for Disease Control. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  5. "Injury Facts Chart". National Safety Council. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. Angelici, Francesco (2016). Problematic wildlife : a cross-disciplinary approach. Cham: Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-22246-2.
  7. "Animal bites". World Health Organization. February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  8. Warrell, D.A. (1993). "Venomous bites and stings in the tropical world". Med J Aust. 159 (11–12): 773–779. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1993.tb141345.x. PMID 8264466.
  9. Langley, Ricky L.; Morrow, William E. (1997). "Deaths resulting from animal attacks in the United States". Wilderness and Environmental Medicine. 8 (1): 8–16. doi:10.1580/1080-6032(1997)008[0008:drfaai]2.3.co;2. PMID 11990139.
  10. Cherry, James (2014). Feigin and Cherry's textbook of pediatric infectious diseases – Animal and Human Bites, Morven S. Edwards. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders. ISBN 978-1-4557-1177-2; Access provided by the University of Pittsburgh
  11. Chen, Henry; Neumeier, Anna; Davies, Brett; Durairaj, Vikram (3 September 2013). "Analysis of Pediatric Facial Dog Bites". Craniomaxillofacial Trauma and Reconstruction. 06 (4): 225–232. doi:10.1055/s-0033-1349211. PMC 3820741. PMID 24436765.
  12. "Exposure to animate mechanical forces, W50-W64". ICD-10 Version:2015. World Health Organization. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  13. Cunneen, Chris. "Chamberlain, Azaria Chantel (1980–1980)". Australian dictionary of biography. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  14. "CAPTIVE NON-HUMAN SOCIALIZED WOLVES KILL CARETAKER IN A CANADIAN FOREST AND WILDLIFE RESERVE". The Wolf Park. 3 May 1996. Archived from the original on 22 March 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  15. Katie Serena (13 April 2018). "Timothy Treadwell Devoted His Life To Grizzly Bears — Until They Ate Him". all thats interesting. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  16. Kim Murphy (1 January 2004). "Russian bear researcher dies in apparent mauling". Chicago tribute. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  17. Oransky, Ivan. "Richard K Root". The Lancet. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  18. "Steve Irwin". Biography. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  19. Sebastien Berger (4 December 2006). "Snake man dies from cobra bite". telegraph. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  20. "Emily Mitchell Commemorates Life of Songbird Daughter". Taylor Mitchell. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  21. MARK MOONEY (31 March 2010). "SeaWorld Trainer Killed by Whale Had Fractured Jaw and Dislocated Joints". ABC News. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  22. Steven Morris (18 July 2014). "Horatio Chapple death: explorers' attempts to fight off polar bear attack". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2019.

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. Encyclopedia of Australian wildlife. Reader's Digest ISBN 1-876689-34-X
  • Fergus, Charles. Wild Guide: Bears. Mechanisburg, 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.
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