Kerry has one of the highest incidence rates of people requiring hospitalisation following a dog bite.
That’s according to a study by the Department of Agriculture, the University of Limerick and the HSE's Health Intelligence Unit; this study looks at 2012 to 2021.
During that time there were 135 dog bites in Kerry that required hospitalisation.
This is an incidence rate of 138.2 per 100,000 population, which is the second highest rate nationally.
In Louth there were 124 dog bites requiring hospitalisation which is an incidence rate of 145.2 – the highest such rate in the country.
Overall, there were 3,158 dog bites that resulted in people seeking hospital treatment.
The study found the majority of the patients had an open wound (75.9%) with 751 (23.8%) suffering a facial wound.
Age standardised Incidence rate (ASIR) for dog bite admissions per 100,000 population person at years risk by county of residence:
