Researchers Report Dog-Bite Epidemic

Dog-bite injuries have reached epidemic proportions, with children suffering the majority of the telltale ragged wounds, researchers said. Of the 4.5 million Americans bitten by dogs each year, one out of six required medical treatment and more than half of the victims were children, researchers at Allegheny University said. The median age of patients bitten was 15 years, with boys ages 5 to 9 suffering the highest rate of bites, many inflicted on the head or neck, the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. said.