Bite wound related infections in rural areas of Macedonia-Greece: consequences on overall health

Background

In this 20 year retrospective study (1989-2009) depicted injuries recorded as dog, cat, horse and human bites from one hospital(Goumenissa General Hospital, Kilkis, Macedonia, Greece).

Materials and methods

The injuries were 35 dog bite,5 cat bite,5 horse bite,4 human bite.The incidence was higher in aged people(over 65 yerars old) and in children, dominant in males and were higher in summer. The highest humidity and highest temperatures was determined for dog-bites.

Results

In all the cases with the routine therapy (antitetanus vaxine, local debridement, Antibiotics) we achieved good results

Conclusions

Bite infections can contain a mix of anaerobes and aerobes from the patient's skin and the animal's oral cavity, including species of Pasteurella, Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, and Capnocytophaga. The most common pathogens associated with bite wounds are Streptococcus species, Staphylococcus species, Pasteurella multocida, Capnocytophaga canimorsus and anaerobic bacteria. Sporadically other pathogens are isolated from bite wounds. Human bites differ from animal bites by higher prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Eikenella corrodens.The lifetime risk of experiencing a bite wound, human or animal, is approximately 40%, and bite wounds account for approximately 2%of all visits to emergency departments. The majority of bite wounds are inflicted by dogs. It is important to be aware of the possibility of complicating infections following bite wounds, particularly after cat bites. Phenoxymethyl penicillin should be the drug of choice in treatment of infections associated with cat and dog bites. However, in case of slow recovery or no improvement, simultaneous lymphadenopathy or pneumonia, S. aureus or Francisella tularensis should be suspected; ciprofloxacin is recommended. For human bite infections the recommend treatment is phenoxymethyl penicillin in combination with penicillinase-stable penicillin.