MAN BITES MAN ....more cases recorded at Korle Bu (Saturday, February 2, 2012, Front page)
Dog and human bites are among the top 10 cases reported at the outpatient department (OPD) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KATH) for three consecutive years.
According to the 2011 annual report of the hospital, while dog bites ranked third after road accidents and assaults, human bites placed fourth on the list of OPD attendance from 2009 to 2011.
While 100 dog bites were recorded in 2009, the figure increased to 255 in 2010 before dropping to 217 in 2011.
For human bites, 17 cases were reported in 2009, but the figure rose to 102 in 2010 and further increased to 108 in 2011.
The report further indicated that reported cases of gunshot wounds increased from 17 in 2009 to 21 in 2010 and 65 in 2011, while those who reported with stabbed wounds also shot up from two in 2009 to 22 in 2010 but rather reduced to 13 in 2011.
In a similar report released in September, 2011, the Ghana Veterinary Medical Association (GVMA) indicated that 25 people died between January 2009 and July 2011 from bites from rabies-infested dogs.
A danger associated with dog bite is rabies, which can kill untreated victims between one day and three months.
Ghana recorded 144 deaths nationwide between 1986 and 2003 due to dog bites, with the Greater Accra Region alone recording 2,620 dog bites between 2003 and 2008, the GMA figures showed.
GVMA data also indicated that 30 to 60 per cent of dog bite victims in dog-endemic areas were children less than 15 years of age, but unfortunately, the majority of those cases went unreported to parents or health authorities.
In a country where stray unvaccinated dogs are common, Dr Samuel Hanson, a former Director of the Veterinary Services, said an easy way to avoid the death and complications that came with dog bites was to vaccinate all dogs.
“When you vaccinate dogs against rabies, the primary concern is to prevent humans from getting rabies,” he told the Daily Graphic.
“Dog vaccines are 10 times cheaper than human vaccines. It, therefore, makes sense to vaccinate your dog when you pay next to nothing to prevent somebody from being bitten by a rabies-infected dog.”
The anti-rabies vaccine is available in most veterinary clinics and costs five to GH¢10.00 per shot.
In the past, the Ghana Veterinary Services operated free vaccination programmes annually, financed by the government, after which dogs that had not been vaccinated were killed. But the initiative was suspended after 1998 because of funding challenges.
He said while dog bites generally might not cause death, rabies-infected dogs could be lethal if medical attention was not received quickly, adding that a quick first aid before rushing the victim of a dog bite to hospital was to wash the spot with soapy water.
“Don’t leave it there, you’ll have to ensure that the dog is sent to the nearest veterinary centre as dogs bite under different conditions and this could help determine what is wrong with the dog.”
Rabies is a zoonotic disease (a disease that is transmitted to humans from animals) that is caused by a virus. The disease infects domestic and wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with infected saliva through bites or scratches.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the incubation period for rabies is typically one to three months, but may vary from less than a week to more than a year. The initial symptoms of rabies are fever and often pain or an unusual or unexplained tingling, pricking or burning sensation (paraesthesia) at the wound site.
As the virus spreads through the central nervous system, progressive, fatal inflammation of the brain and the spinal cord develops.
Unlike dog bites, the reasons for which a person might bite another was difficult to diagnose but could be explained as a form of self-defence or increased stress level, the Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwesi Osei, told the Daily Graphic.
“People may fall on their teeth because they feel disadvantaged in terms of physique or strength. They, therefore, use that to express self-defence. It ,therefore, becomes a natural way of dealing with the aggressor when the person is no match for his or her opponent,” he said.
Dr Osei observed that if human bites were on the increase, then there was the need to find out why people were fighting and biting as it could be a possible indicator of increased stress levels.
“It could mean that a lot of people are getting stressed up and getting easily irritated with others,” the Chief Psychiatrist said.
According to medical experts, human bites could be as dangerous as or even more dangerous than animal bites because of the types of bacteria and viruses contained in the human mouth.
There are high levels of bacteria and different types of virus contained in human mouths that can turn a minor wound to a severe infection that can be hard to treat and move quickly to cause major complications.
Human bites have been shown to transmit hepatitis B, hepatitis C, herpes simplex virus (HSV), syphilis, tuberculosis, actinomycosis, and tetanus. Evidence suggests that it is biologically possible to transmit the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through human bites, although this is quite unlikely.
A herbalist, Togbe Kormi Lumor, for his part, said while human bites could be treated with herbs, the myth that “when you bite a person who bites you, you get cured” was unfounded.
He, therefore, urged victims of human bites to seek medical attention rather than seek cure through biting people who might bite them back.
Writer's email : seth.bokpe@graphic.com.gh
According to the 2011 annual report of the hospital, while dog bites ranked third after road accidents and assaults, human bites placed fourth on the list of OPD attendance from 2009 to 2011.
While 100 dog bites were recorded in 2009, the figure increased to 255 in 2010 before dropping to 217 in 2011.
For human bites, 17 cases were reported in 2009, but the figure rose to 102 in 2010 and further increased to 108 in 2011.
The report further indicated that reported cases of gunshot wounds increased from 17 in 2009 to 21 in 2010 and 65 in 2011, while those who reported with stabbed wounds also shot up from two in 2009 to 22 in 2010 but rather reduced to 13 in 2011.
In a similar report released in September, 2011, the Ghana Veterinary Medical Association (GVMA) indicated that 25 people died between January 2009 and July 2011 from bites from rabies-infested dogs.
A danger associated with dog bite is rabies, which can kill untreated victims between one day and three months.
Ghana recorded 144 deaths nationwide between 1986 and 2003 due to dog bites, with the Greater Accra Region alone recording 2,620 dog bites between 2003 and 2008, the GMA figures showed.
GVMA data also indicated that 30 to 60 per cent of dog bite victims in dog-endemic areas were children less than 15 years of age, but unfortunately, the majority of those cases went unreported to parents or health authorities.
In a country where stray unvaccinated dogs are common, Dr Samuel Hanson, a former Director of the Veterinary Services, said an easy way to avoid the death and complications that came with dog bites was to vaccinate all dogs.
“When you vaccinate dogs against rabies, the primary concern is to prevent humans from getting rabies,” he told the Daily Graphic.
“Dog vaccines are 10 times cheaper than human vaccines. It, therefore, makes sense to vaccinate your dog when you pay next to nothing to prevent somebody from being bitten by a rabies-infected dog.”
The anti-rabies vaccine is available in most veterinary clinics and costs five to GH¢10.00 per shot.
In the past, the Ghana Veterinary Services operated free vaccination programmes annually, financed by the government, after which dogs that had not been vaccinated were killed. But the initiative was suspended after 1998 because of funding challenges.
He said while dog bites generally might not cause death, rabies-infected dogs could be lethal if medical attention was not received quickly, adding that a quick first aid before rushing the victim of a dog bite to hospital was to wash the spot with soapy water.
“Don’t leave it there, you’ll have to ensure that the dog is sent to the nearest veterinary centre as dogs bite under different conditions and this could help determine what is wrong with the dog.”
Rabies is a zoonotic disease (a disease that is transmitted to humans from animals) that is caused by a virus. The disease infects domestic and wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with infected saliva through bites or scratches.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the incubation period for rabies is typically one to three months, but may vary from less than a week to more than a year. The initial symptoms of rabies are fever and often pain or an unusual or unexplained tingling, pricking or burning sensation (paraesthesia) at the wound site.
As the virus spreads through the central nervous system, progressive, fatal inflammation of the brain and the spinal cord develops.
Unlike dog bites, the reasons for which a person might bite another was difficult to diagnose but could be explained as a form of self-defence or increased stress level, the Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwesi Osei, told the Daily Graphic.
“People may fall on their teeth because they feel disadvantaged in terms of physique or strength. They, therefore, use that to express self-defence. It ,therefore, becomes a natural way of dealing with the aggressor when the person is no match for his or her opponent,” he said.
Dr Osei observed that if human bites were on the increase, then there was the need to find out why people were fighting and biting as it could be a possible indicator of increased stress levels.
“It could mean that a lot of people are getting stressed up and getting easily irritated with others,” the Chief Psychiatrist said.
According to medical experts, human bites could be as dangerous as or even more dangerous than animal bites because of the types of bacteria and viruses contained in the human mouth.
There are high levels of bacteria and different types of virus contained in human mouths that can turn a minor wound to a severe infection that can be hard to treat and move quickly to cause major complications.
Human bites have been shown to transmit hepatitis B, hepatitis C, herpes simplex virus (HSV), syphilis, tuberculosis, actinomycosis, and tetanus. Evidence suggests that it is biologically possible to transmit the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through human bites, although this is quite unlikely.
A herbalist, Togbe Kormi Lumor, for his part, said while human bites could be treated with herbs, the myth that “when you bite a person who bites you, you get cured” was unfounded.
He, therefore, urged victims of human bites to seek medical attention rather than seek cure through biting people who might bite them back.
Writer's email : seth.bokpe@graphic.com.gh
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