Do animals bite more during a full moon? Retrospective observational analysis

Objective To test the hypothesis that the incidence of animal bites increas es at the time of a full moon. Design Retrospective observational analysis. Setting Accident and emergency department at a general hospital in an Engli sh city Subjects 1621 consecutive patients, irrespective of age and sex. Main outcome measures Number of patients who attended an accident and emerg ency department during 1997 to 1999 after being bitten by an animal, The nu mber of bites in each day was compared with the lunar phase in each month. Results The incidence of animal bites rose significantly at the time of a f ull moon. With the period of the full moon as the reference period, the inc idence rate ratio of the bites for all other periods of the lunar cycle was significantly lower(P < 0.001). Conclusions The full moon is associated with a significant increase in anim al bites to humans.