A retrospective study of dog bite occurrence and anti-rabies vaccination of dogs in a State Veterinary Hospital in Ogoja, Cross River State, Nigeria.

Rabies is one of the world's major zoonoses. Controlling rabies continues to pose a major public health challenge. The issues surrounding dog bites and the vaccination of dogs against rabies are important to consider in implementing programmes to control the spread of rabies. This is particularly true in Ogoja, Nigeria, where accessibility to adequate health care and veterinary medical services, and the management of canine populations are challenging. This retrospective study analyses factors associated with dog bites to humans and anti-rabies vaccination in dogs that were reported to a State Veterinary Hospital in Ogoja. Factors such as the age and sex of the dog bite victim, and season and site of bite, as well as the age, sex, breed, and vaccination history of the biting dogs were obtained for a period of 11 years (2001-2011). Out of 183 dog bite cases, 79 (43.2%) were to persons > 20 years of age. Anatomically, the majority of bite wounds - 20 (64.5%) - occurred on the lower extremities of the body. The seasonal distribution of bites indicates a higher frequency in the months of October and March (dry season). A total of 687 (43.9%) dogs were vaccinated out of 1,562 cases presented within the period of study. The highest vaccination rate was within the ages of 3-12 months (464 dogs, or 67.5%). In this study, dog bites were a common occurrence among male children > 20 years old, and the frequency of bites was high during the dry season. Proper sensitisation around how to manage dog bites and increase anti-rabies vaccination of dogs as a means of controlling the disease are recommended.