Epidemiological Characteristics of Animal-Related Injuries in Children Aged 0-14 Years in Beihai City,Guangxi,2020-2022

LI Shaozhen; LIAO Wenling; PANG Shihua; CHEN Li; ZHOU Shaobi

doi:10.13919/j.issn.2095-6274.ZHJY202504057

Abstract：Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of animal-related injuries among children aged 0-14 years in Beihai City,Guangxi,and to provide a scientific basis for developing prevention and control strategies for animal-related injuries in children.Methods Data on animal-related injury cases among children aged 0-14 years were retrospectively collected from the Animal Injury Center of Beihai People's Hospital in Beihai City,Guangxi,between 2020 and 2022.A descriptive analysis was conducted across multiple dimensions including gender,age,injury month,injury season,exposure level,injury site,and location of animal-related inju-ry incidents.Results Between 2020 and 2022,a total of 1,290 cases of animal-related injuries in children were reported.Among these,698 cases(54.11％)occurred in males and 592(45.89％)in females.The majority of cases involved children aged 7-9 years(355 cases,27.52％)and 0-3 years(325 cases,25.19％).The highest incidence occurred in May(162 cases,12.56％),followed by February(143 cases,11.09％).Seasonally,injuries were most frequent in spring(387 cases,30.00％)and winter(355 cases,27.52％).The peak injury times were 18:00-23:59(556 cases,43.10％)and 13:00-17:59(388 cases,30.08％).Regarding exposure severity,Grade Ⅱ injuries accounted for 649 cases(50.31％)and Grade Ⅲ injuries for 640 cas-es(49.61％).Upper limb injuries predominated(865 cases,67.05％),followed by lower limb injuries(274 cases,21.24％).The majority of incidents occurred in residential settings(1,274 cases,98.76％),with fewer cases reported in schools(12 cases,0.93％),grasslands(2 cases,0.16％),bushy areas(1 case,0.08％),and zoos(1 case,0.08％).Conclusion Animal-related injuries in children represent a critical public health priority for prevention in Beihai City,Guangxi.These injuries exhibit year-round occurrence with distinct seasonal patterns,and residential settings emerge as the key intervention locus.