Sahel Medical Journal

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year
: 2000  |  Volume : 3  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 33--36

Dog bite in children in Ilorin


A Ojuawo, A AhdulKareem 
 Department of Paediatrics, University Of Ilorin Teaching Hospi tal, Ilorin, Nigeria

Correspondence Address:
A Ojuawo
Department of Paediatrics, University Of Ilorin Teaching Hospi tal, Ilorin
Nigeria

This was a prospective study o{39 cases of dog bites and 4 cases (![rabies seen in the Emergency Paediatric Unit of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital over a 3 year period. The peak age range of the children who had dog-bite was -1 to 8 years with a mean (SD) age(!{ 55 (I 2. 4) months. All those with rabies were aged over 5 years. Over seventy percent o{ the dog bit e occurred during the d1·y season (October through]I![ arch). ]I![ ales accounted for .8%, whilst all the cases of rabies were males. the patients with rabies did not inform their parents of the bite and never received anti rabies vaccination. Stray dogs accounted for 58.9% of the bit es, domestic dogs in 33.3% and dogs used for hunting in 7. 7% of the cases. None of the children bitten by a vaccinated dog (with certificate of vaccination) developed rabies. Also none of the patients given anti rabies vaccine post exposure developed the disease. All the cases of rabies die d. conclusion, children with dog-bite in whom the certificate o f vaccination in the dog could not b e produced should be given anti rabies vaccine. There should be public enlightenment campaigns aimed at informing the public of the need to vaccinate all dogs, and the need to report all cases of dog-bite at health facilities.


How to cite this article:
Ojuawo A, AhdulKareem A. Dog bite in children in Ilorin.Sahel Med J 2000;3:33-36


How to cite this URL:
Ojuawo A, AhdulKareem A. Dog bite in children in Ilorin. Sahel Med J [serial online] 2000 [cited 2024 Mar 28 ];3:33-36
Available from: https://www.smjonline.org/article.asp?issn=1118-8561;year=2000;volume=3;issue=1;spage=33;epage=36;aulast=Ojuawo;type=0