It’s not unusual for the Cox South Emergency Room to treat dog bites, but doctors say they’ve seen an increase in life threatening dog attacks. More children have been admitted to the hospital than usual, and some were even placed in critical condition.
Here’s a look at the numbers:
The Cox South emergency room has treated 61 dogs bites this year
In the last 5 years, only 2.5% of dog bite cases were serious enough to admit a patient.
This year that number has shot up to 13%
A majority of those patients were between the ages of 5 and 9
“What we’ve seen recently are actually attacks. So these aren’t bites, you know, leave me alone, or you’re in my area, you’re in my yard – these are actually dogs that have actually went after children,” explained Jason Martin with Cox Health Trauma Services. “These aren’t just defensive bites, these are what we consider attack.”
via Cox Health sees increase in dog attacks | Local – Home.
