Incidence rate of animal bites in southern Iran during 2015-2019 using Cochrane-Armitage trend test

Objective: To investigate the trend of animal bites in southern Iran from 2015 to 2019. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of patients with animal bites who were referred to the Center for Disease Control in the three cities of Larestan, Evaz, and Khonj in Fars province, southern Iran from 2015 to 2019. The trend of animal bites incidence was analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test. Results: In total, from 2015 to 2019, 1 944 cases of animal bites were reported. A total of 79.8% of the cases were men. The overall average incidence of animal bites was 142.93 per 100 000 people. The incidence of animal bites was significantly increased (Ptrend<0.001). The highest incidence was in November (79.04 per 100 000 people) followed by January (76.1 per 100 000 people) and February (69.48 per 100 000 people); also, the lowest incidence was in August (47.42 per 100 000 people) and July (50.0 per 100 000 people). Conclusions: The incidence of animal bites has significantly increased. Given the importance of rabies, control and management of animal bites should be emphasized and considered.