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A bite out of the budget? : costs and characteristics of animal bites in Benton County, Oregon

In 1993 and 1994 total, there were 247 people reported to have been bitten by
animals in Benton County, Oregon. Of the 243 biting animals, 70 percent were dogs, 25
percent cats, and 5 percent other animals such as ferrets, mice, rats, bats, and skunks.
Fifty-four percent of all bites occurred in Corvallis, a district of Benton County that
contains 62 percent of Benton County's population. Over 50 percent of the animal bites
were reported to the Benton County Health Department by local medical centers treating
the wounds and by the local police department. Of the 247 animal bites investigated, 79
percent of the animals were quarantined. The average time for a health department official
to investigate a bite was estimated to be 0.52 hours/bite and the average cost was
$39/bite. The average cost of investigating animal bites was estimated to be $4789 per
year (1.2 percent of the Environmental Health Division's total direct expenditures). / Graduation date: 1996

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/34740
Date23 October 1995
CreatorsSherburne, Holly R.
ContributorsRossignol, Annette
Source SetsOregon State University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation

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