Epidemiological Study of Animal Bites and Rabies in Bandar Astara City in 2017

Introduction: Rabies is a viral disease that virus is removing from body during an animal's bite and can cause death. The aim of this study was to determine of the epidemiologic cases of animal bite and rabies in Northern of Iran. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 150 cases in Bandar Astara city in 2017. Data were collected using a researcher-made checklist. For analyze the data we used SPSS 22. Results: In this study, 78% of cases were males and 22% of females. The mean age was 34.25 ± 19.41. Most cases of animal bites occurred at age 50 and older. 49.3% of cases were in the urban and 50.7% in the rural area. Most of animal bites happened by the dog. 97.3% of animals were domesticated. The majority bites were happened in leg 83(55.3%). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that animal bite is still one of the public health problems in the Astara city. Therefore, the necessary measures to prevent and minimize animal bites are necessary.