Animal bites, active and reserve components, U.S. Armed Forces, 2001-2010

From 2001 to 2010, there were 20,522 diagnoses of animal bites among U.S. military members. Of these, 643 (3.1%) were documented during medical encounters in combat theater. The majority of bites were "dog bites" and occurred more in males, soldiers, and those in infantry and law enforcement occupations. A small proportion of animal bites received documentation of exposure to or post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies virus. Animal bite avoidance and rabies education should be reinforced before members travel or deploy to areas highly endemic for rabies.