Public healthNumber of people killed by animals in the U.S. remains unchanged
Bites, kicks, and stings from farm animals, bees, wasps, hornets, and dogs continue to represent the most danger to humans, according to a new study. The study shows that animal encounters remain a considerable cause of human harm and death. Researchers analyzed fatalities in the United States from venomous and nonvenomous animals from 2008-2015. They found that while many deaths from animal encounters are potentially avoidable, mortality rates did not decrease from 2008-2015. Each year in the United States alone, over one million emergency room visits and approximately $2 billion in healthcare spending are attributable to problematic animal encounters.
A new study released in the latest issue of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine shows that animal encounters remain a considerable cause of human harm and death. Researchers analyzed fatalities in the United States from venomous and nonvenomous animals from 2008-2015. They found that while many deaths from animal encounters are potentially avoidable, mortality rates did not decrease from 2008-2015. The animals most commonly responsible for human fatalities are farm animals, insects (hornets, wasps, and bees), and dogs.
In a follow-up to their previous study looking at data from 1999-2007, researchers from Stanford University used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database to collect data by type of animal and individuals’ age, race, sex, and region where the fatalities occurred. They found that from 2008-2015, there were 1,610 animal-related fatalities in the United States, with the majority of deaths the result of encounters with nonvenomous animals (57 percent).
“From this search, we found that the rates of death from encounters with animals has remained relatively stable from the last time we preformed this analysis (1999-2007),” remarked lead investigator Jared A. Forrester, MD, Department of Surgery, Stanford University. “Importantly, most deaths are not actually due to wild animals like mountain lions, wolves, bears, sharks, etc., but are a result of deadly encounters with farm animals, anaphylaxis from bees, wasps, or hornet stings, and dog attacks. So, while it is important that people recreating in the wilderness know what to do when they encounter a potentially dangerous animal, the actual risk of death is quite low.”
Elsevier says that during the study period, there were about 86 deaths annually from venomous animal encounters. This is up from 79.5 in 1999-2007, 69 in 1991-2001, 60 in 1979-1990, and 46 from 1950-1959. The most lethal venomous animal encounter remained stings and subsequent anaphylaxis from bees, wasps, and hornets despite the availability of life-saving treatment for anaphylaxis. “Africanized” honey bees may be particularly lethal when they swarm and are increasingly common in the southern and western United States.
