BITES TO HUMANS CAUSED BY STRAY AND OWNED DOGS IN BELGRADE

The study aimed to estimate the incidence of bites caused by stray and owned dogs in the population of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia in the period from 1(st) January 2003 to 31(st) December 2006. Also, the seasonal influence on dog biting was estimated for the same time period. All data on total, stray and owned dog bites in Belgrade in the analyzed period were obtained from the Institute for Infectious and Tropical Diseases of The Medical School in Belgrade and from the Secretariat for Environmental Protection of the City Assembly of Belgrade. The average annual incidence of bites caused by strays was 95.64 per 100 000 residents; 52.84 per 100 000 residents caused by owned dogs and 148.48 per 100 000 residents caused by both categories of dogs. In this period stray dogs caused a significantly higher (P<0.0001) number of bites to humans than owned dogs. The average value for dog bites was 1507.50 +/- 143.57/year for strays and 832.75 +/- 211.31/year for owned dogs. The highest average value of total dog bites was observed in the spring months in 2005 (263.67 +/- 28.01), as well in the spring months (497.33 +/- 36.53) for two consecutive years (2005 and 2006). From the aspect of dog bites our results point to the following risk factors for residents in the Belgrade area: the first is the population of stray dogs without owners and the second is the population of irresponsible and uneducated owners of dogs.