Injuries from dog bites affect approximately 4.7 million Americans per year, causing significant societal impact. Currently dog bites are the third leading cause of homeowner insurance claims, and are estimated to cost the insurance industry $489 million annually. When insurance costs are coupled with hospitalizations and lost productivity, dog bites are estimated to cost the United States $2 billion/year. However, the true impact of dog bite injuries remains unknown since discrepancies exist in the number of dog bite injuries being found by various mechanisms, and many bites may actually go unreported. In order to evaluate the true impact of dog bite injuries, the limitations of current surveillance methods must first be delineated and understood.
Objective
To give an overview of the challenges facing dog bite injury surveillance as well as identify some potential solutions for improving surveillance mechanisms.