1102 Animal Bite Cases in 3 Years... Dog Bites Account for 80.8%

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's "2021 Domestic Rabies Exposure Patient Surveillance Status" data on the 11th, a total of 1,102 cases were reported to the rabies exposure patient surveillance system over the past three years.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Approximately 80% of patients injured by animal bites over the past three years were bitten by dogs.

According to Yonhap News on the 11th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced through the '2021 Domestic Rabies Bite Patient Occurrence Surveillance Status' data that a total of 1,102 cases were reported to the rabies bite patient surveillance system over the past three years.

By year, there were 670 cases in 2019, 302 cases in 2020, and 130 cases in 2021. The annual number of bite patient reports had been increasing since 2005 (359 cases) but showed a decreasing trend starting in 2020. This is analyzed to be due to reduced outdoor activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By animal, bites caused by dogs accounted for the highest proportion at 80.8%, followed by cat bites (14.6%) and raccoon bites (0.8%).

Among dog bites, cases involving companion dogs accounted for 76.2%, followed by breeding dogs (15.2%) and stray dogs (8.6%). For cat bites, wild cats accounted for 63.2%, while companion cats accounted for 36.8%.

Meanwhile, the KDCA has been operating this surveillance system since 2005 to manage the risk of rabies transmission.

Rabies, a zoonotic infectious disease, is called rabies in humans and canine rabies in animals. The main transmission route of rabies is known to be bites. Infection occurs mainly when a person is bitten by an animal infected with rabies or when the virus in the animal's saliva enters the body through a wound.

Rabies is a fatal disease with a 100% mortality rate once infected. Therefore, the KDCA emphasizes that if bitten by an animal, the wound should be disinfected promptly, and if the animal is suspected of having rabies, preventive vaccination should be administered.

In South Korea, there were a total of six rabies cases reported from 1999 to 2004, but none have been reported since 2005. Animal rabies cases have not been reported since 2014.

Globally, about 95% of rabies deaths occur in Asia and Africa, especially in Southeast Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar as high-risk rabies endemic countries among 11 Southeast Asian countries. Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia are classified as medium-risk endemic countries.

The KDCA stated that although there have been no recent reports of rabies cases domestically, considering the increase in overseas travel and the population of companion animal owners, South Korea cannot be considered completely safe. They emphasized that when traveling to rabies risk areas or countries, contact with wild or stray animals should be avoided, and if bitten, emergency treatment and medical care must be received.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.