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Quokka bites. The first report of bites from an Australian marsupial
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Fremantle Hospital, WA.
Objective:
To describe the incidence and natural history of bites from the quokka, a small wallaby.
Design:
A prospective case series.
Setting:
Rottnest Island Nursing Post, a small hospital staffed by registered nurses on call 24 hours a day, located on Rottnest Island 18 km off the coast of Western Australia near Perth.
Patients:
All patients presenting after a bite from a quokka.
Results:
Seventy-two patients (30 males and 42 females) presented after a bite. All but two patients were patting or feeding a quokka at the time of being bitten, and all but two were bitten on a finger or the thumb. Sixty-one per cent of patients were followed up; all wounds healed without complications. No wound pathogens were cultured from either wound swabs or swabs of the mouths of quokkas.
Conclusions:
Bites from quokkas heal without complications, usually in two to three weeks. Simple first aid and tetanus prophylaxis where appropriate are all that is required. Antibiotics are not indicated.