Working with Military Working Dogs involves the risk of dog bites, some of which can be debilitating or cause permanent disability.¹ Dogs working in law enforcement are specially trained to exert a higher bite force compared to domestic dogs.^2,3 Among military personnel, severe dog bites inflict a significant medical and logistical burden in the form of emergency evacuations, antibiotic treatments, and lost duty time.¹ Risk of dog bites may vary depending on military occupation. The objective of this analysis was to compare incidence of dog bites among active component service members in mutually exclusive occupation groups: MWD handlers, veterinary personnel, military police, and other ACSMs.

Dog bites were defined by having an in-theater, ambulatory, or inpatient encounter in the Defense Medical Surveillance System with a defining diagnosis in any diagnostic position.⁴ A dog bite was counted once per year. Person-time contributions for each service member were determined from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2023. Person-time was calculated for the time in which service members were in the occupation of interest. Person-time was censored when a service member left a designated occupation, left the active component service, or at the end of surveillance period, whichever occurred first. Incident dog bite cases were determined, and crude incidence rates were calculated per 10,000 person-years. All analyses were conducted using SAS-Enterprise Guide (version 8.3).

During the surveillance period, there were 1,186 dog bites among 990 MWD handlers, 263 dog bites among 236 veterinary personnel, 1,473 dog bites among 1,411 military police and 20,837 dog bites among 20,322 all other ACSMs (data not shown). Repeated bites were more common among MWD handlers (16.7%) and veterinary personnel (10.6%) than among military police (4.5%) and all other ACSMs (2.5%). Overall, the incidence rate of dog bites was more than 20 times higher among MWD handlers (422.9 cases per 10,000 p-yrs) compared to military police (22.5 cases per 10,000 p-yrs) and other ACSM (13.9 cases per 10,000 p-yrs) (Figure). Veterinary personnel had the second highest incidence of dog bites with 216.1 dog bites per 10,000 person-yrs. (Figure). Dog bite incidence rates among MWD handlers ranged from 421.4 cases per 10,000 p-yrs in 2012 to 448.3 cases per 10,000 p-yrs in 2023, where 2022 accounted for highest incident rate (569.0 cases per 10,000 person-yrs.) (Figure). Comparatively, dog bite incidence rates among veterinary personnel ranged from 187.5 cases per 10,000 p-yrs in 2012 to 255.5 cases per 10,000 p-yrs in 2023 (Figure).

MWD handlers had a dog bite incidence rate that was more than 20 times higher compared to military police and other ACSMs. Moreover, veterinary personnel had a 10 times higher dog bite incidence compared to military police and other ACSMs. MWD handlers and veterinary personnel may interact with MWDs in times of stress for the animals, which may increase their risk of bites. Training MWDs and providing veterinary care to MWDs may put MWD handlers and veterinary personnel at a higher risk of dog bites requiring medical care compared to service members in other occupations. The higher incidence of dog bites highlights the importance of proper training and protective measures for service members working with dogs.

Authors’ Affiliation

Epidemiology and Analysis Section, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division, Defense Health Agency, Silver Spring, MD: Dr. Mabila, Ms. Murray, Dr. Stahlman, Dr. Sheriff, Ms. McQuistan

References 

1. H Schermann NE, A Sabag, E Kazum, et al. Estimation of dog-bite risk and related morbidity among personnel working with military dogs. J Spec Oper Med. 2018;17(3):51-54. doi:10.55460/2f8x-fnzf 
2. Meade P. Police and domestic dog bite injuries: what are the differences? what are the implications about police dog use? Injury Extra. 2006;37:395-401. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2006.05.007
3. Hutson HR, Anglin D, Pineda GV, et al. Law enforcement K-9 dog bites: injuries, complications, and trends. Ann Emerg Med. 1997;29(5):637-642. doi:10.1016/s0196-0644(97)70253-1 
4. Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. Surveillance Case Definition: Animal Bites. Defense Health Agency, U.S. Dept. of Defense. Nov. 2019. Accessed May 24, 2024. https://health.mil/reference-center/publications/2019/11/01/animal-bites