The changing epidemiology of dog bite injuries in the United States, 2005-2018
Cited in 2 Likelier entries (2 risks, 0 decisions).
Used in 2 entries
For each citing entry, the verbatim excerpt and Likelier's calculation notes (how the source's number was converted to the lifetime-probability framing) are shown below. Click through to read the full claim ledger.
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- Statistic
~337,000 US ED visits per year for dog bites, 2005-2013; highest rate in ages 5-9
“"Between 2005 and 2013, there were an average of 337,103 visits to emergency departments (ED) per year for dog bites. The modal category is the age group 5 to 9, followed by the age groups 0 to 4 and 10 to 14. Injuries are more prevalent among school-age children, inhabitants of less-densely populated areas, and residents of poorer neighborhoods."”
Calculation notes
Used to bracket the denominator: roughly 337,000 ED-treated dog bites per year, of which ~40 end in death, gives a case-fatality ratio near 1 in 8,400 per ED-treated bite. Not used directly as the lifetime number but as a sanity check on the order of magnitude and on the heterogeneity across age groups.
Independence note: Loder & Momin draw from NEISS emergency-department data, methodologically independent of the death-certificate pipeline used by WISQARS and Patronek.
Source date: 2020-10-21 · Accessed: 2026-04-11
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- Statistic
ED-treated dog bite rate stable at ~100 per 100,000 population/year; children aged 1-4 and 5-9 have highest rates; males bitten more frequently than females; bite rates stable despite rising dog ownership
“"Using national emergency department data, dog bite rates remained relatively stable at approximately 100 per 100,000 population per year from 2005 to 2018. Children aged 1-4 and 5-9 years had the highest bite rates. Males were bitten more frequently than females across all age groups. The bite rate remained stable despite significant increases in US dog ownership."”
Calculation notes
The ED-based rate of ~100 per 100,000 = 0.1% per year aligns with the "medical attention required" subset (0.24% per year from CDC full-bite estimate × 19% medical-attention rate ≈ 0.24% vs 0.10% — the ED figure is narrower because it excludes urgent care and physician office visits). Used to confirm that the CDC 4.5 million total-bite estimate is plausible: 4.5M × 19% = 855,000 medical visits is consistent with the ED-based epidemiology. Age gradient confirms children's elevated risk.
Independence note: This study uses the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) and similar ED-based surveillance data, which counts only ED-presented bites. It is independent from CDC's population survey-based estimates and from insurance company claims data, triangulating the injury-care subset of bites.
Source date: 2020-11-01 · Accessed: 2026-05-14
