'Human bites are more dangerous than dog bites,' epidemiologists talk about the risks

The public was shocked by the news that a woman bit a police officer at the Svrljig Health Center, as well as that a folk singer was recently bitten in the stomach by a guest at a party and had his mole pulled out.

Epidemiologist Zoran Radovanović explains that human bites are often more dangerous than dog bites due to what he calls a higher risk of infection, stating that such incidents speak more about the state of society than about the injury itself.

" In principle, human bites are more dangerous than dog bites. They fester more often, the wound itself is more susceptible to infection because there is a more diverse flora in the human mouth. These are strange situations and reflect the sociopathological state of society," explains epidemiologist Zoran Radovanovic.

We remind you that a seventy-seven-year-old woman verbally attacked a doctor at the Health Center in Svrljig, who then called the police, and then, during the intervention, she bit one of the police officers who came to legitimize her in the stomach.

Radovanovic explains that after the attack, primary wound treatment was necessary, which includes examination and disinfection of the wound.

" The wound is disinfected and, depending on where it is located, it can be sutured, staples can be placed. If it is a nerve injury, it is a more serious issue. Then microsurgical interventions will also be considered ," explains the epidemiologist.

Radovanovic also believes that there is no need for the attacked person to receive the tetanus vaccine because, as he says, "there is little chance that tetanus spores will be found in the oral cavity."

He adds that, if there is no serious damage to the skin surface, treatment is reduced to primary wound treatment and checking whether the wound will become infected in the following days.

Commenting on another recent case, when a man attacked and bit a famous singer, ripping off his mole, Radovanović says there is a low probability of malignant melanoma.

"People are afraid of moles, but every person has at least 30 moles, most of them much more. It is not unusual in itself. People believe that a malignant melanoma arises from a mole, but only 30 percent of melanomas arise from a mole and 70 percent from the skin. If the mole is removed, then it depends on how much of the skin defect went with the mole. He was not at particular risk, the probability of it becoming malignant melanoma is minimal, the only thing that needs to be treated primarily is the wound" , explains Radovanović.

Speaking about the attackers, the interlocutor says that they, from the bite itself, should not suffer any consequences, but that after such an action a psychiatric examination would be required.

"If there is obvious behavior, then a psychiatric examination is considered. People in anger, especially in this kind of environment, do this more often than usual, and more often here than in Switzerland, for example," believes the N1 interviewee, adding that aggressive behavior is more common in "societies full of injustice where there is a lot of accumulated anger."