Background: The threat of animal attacks on people is still a huge medico-social problem as these attacks result in millions of death and injuries worldwide. Snake bite along with other animal bites like dog bite, scorpion bite is a neglected public health problem. Snake bites are the common cause of mortality and morbidity in tropical countries. Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the extent of various bites and study the socio-demographic factors, cure rate and mortality rates of various bites at District Hospital. Materials & Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was carried out at the District Civil Hospital in Ahmednagar. Data regarding various animal bite cases coming to the District Hospital from January 2004 to December 2008 was collected from the registers maintained in the medical record department. A pre- designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used for the data collection. Results: In the present study, a total of 5461 cases of animal bites were admitted in the hospital. Majority (54.56%) were males. Maximum cases were of dog bite, 3250 (59.5%), followed by snake bites 1620 (29.6%) and 23 (0.24%) cases were of scorpion bite.Maximum cases amongst were dog bites and from 10-20 years age group, whereas snake bite was common in > 40 years. Conclusion: Majority bites were due to dog bites followed by snake bites. Awareness regarding early management of snake bites must be increased to decrease the mortality. Patient education is important for decreasing the incidence and morbidity of animal bites. 

Key words: Animal bites; Dog bite; Snake Bite; Scorpion bite.