Introduction: Rabies is a neglected tropical disease that is highly fatal and yet it
is under-reported in the developing countries like Nigeria. The domestic dog is
the primary reservoir host as well as the most important source of infection
usually conveyed by saliva through bites. Aim: This study sought to
determine the frequency and outcome of dog bite injury and clinical rabies
presented to the Accident and Emergency unit of Benue State University Teaching
Hospital Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Methods: This retrospective
hospital-based study reviewed the medical records of all patients with dog bite
who presented over an eight-year period from August 2014 to July 2022. Rabies
virus infection was diagnosed on clinical basis. A structured proforma was used
to extract relevant information and data was analysed using the statistical
package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21. Result: Mean and median
age was 27.03 ± 10.98 and 29 years respectively, range of 2 - 47 years and 11 (73.3%) were males. There were 15
cases of dog bite out of 17,187 patients making frequency of 1.14 per
1000 persons constituting 0.09% or about 2 cases yearly. Seven (46.7%) of this
total number had clinical rabies infection with 7 (100.0%) mortality. All 7
(100.0%) with clinical rabies had a furious (encephalitic) form. Rabies
immunoglobulin was prescribed in 8 (53.3%), 6 (40.0%) received them while 13
(86.7%) received post-exposure rabies vaccine. Conclusion: Dog bite is
an uncommon reason for Accident and Emergency visit in our facility with male
preponderance. However, about 46.7% of the dog bite victims developed clinical
symptoms suggestive of furious (encephalitic) form of rabies with 100.0%
fatality.
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