ABSTRACT
Wild animal related injury is a serious health problem for people living in the foothills of the sub Himalayan terrain. Geographically the foothills are proximal to the tea gardens and the dense forests which in turn are in close proximity to human habitation. Thus, the tea garden workers and labourers as well as others are always at imminent threat from the abundant wildlife. The type of injury could be quite serious, sometimes grotesque and even life threatening. Though we regularly face various kinds of such injuries inflicted from wild animals, there are no studies regarding this very pertinent problem at hand. We wanted to evaluate the causes and treatment outcomes of wild animal injuries in the foothills of sub Himalayan terrain.METHODSThis is a descriptive study conducted for a period of two years. We reviewed the medical records of about 103 patients with wild animal related injuries in North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, between July 2017 to May 2019. Data was collected and compiled in Excel sheet followed by analysis using software Epi Info and Epi Calc 2000.RESULTSThe medical records of about 103 patients with wild animal related injuries in a rural tertiary medical college and hospital of North Bengal between July 2017 to May 2019 were reviewed. Demographic and etiological characteristics of patients and injury and outcome data were analysed. 80% were males and 20% females. The mean age was 33 years (13-77 years). 80% were inflicted by elephants. However, a wide array of animals like rhinos, leopards, bison and leopards were responsible. There were eleven deaths, elephant trampling accounting for nine of them. Interestingly there were urban victims too.CONCLUSIONSWild animal related injuries constitute an important public health problem for people living in this sub-Himalayan belt which needs to be addressed with proper environmental and health measures.