Pet Waste and Your Health
(part 1 of 4)
The American Pet association estimates that this country's seventy-one million pet dogs produce over 4.4 billion pounds of waste per year. That’s enough to cover 900 football fields with 12 inches of dog waste!
Dog feces are more than just a nuisance – pet waste can pose a serious health hazard.
Why?... A number of common parasites, including various worms, are transmitted via dog feces. When infected dog droppings are left on the ground the eggs of the roundworms and other parasites can linger in the soil for years. As a result, anyone who comes in contact with the soil also comes in contact with the infected eggs.
Children run the greatest risk of infection because they're prone to play in the dirt at the park or playground and then put their hands in their mouths or rub their eyes with their hands. But even a group of teens or adults playing Frisbee or touch football in an open area could be in danger. Parasitic infections can make humans extremely sick, and for pregnant women - can pose a serious harm to their unborn child.
Facts About the Dangers of Dog Poop
1. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms pet waste can spread parasites including roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and Salmonella. When infected dog poop comes into contact with your lawn, the poop will eventually "disappear", but the parasite eggs can linger for years! When a human or animal comes into contact with that soil through everyday activities like walking barefoot, gardening or playing, they risk infection from those eggs ... even years after the poop is gone.
2. Pet waste is teaming with E. Coli and other harmful bacteria including fecal coliform bacteria, which causes serious kidney disorders, intestinal illness, cramps and diarrhea in humans. (There are 23 million fecal coliform bacteria in a single gram of pet waste!)
3. Dog poop often contains roundworm larvae, which cause blindness. If a human ingests a roundworm larva, it can migrate through the body causing disease to the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, heart or eyes. So when people (especially children) touch soil, dog toys or anything that has been in contact with dog feces and then touch their mouths, they can become infected.
Information provided by: Randy Winn. Randy is the co-owner of Jake’s Pooper Scoopers in Orange County, California. For more information about Randy or Jake’s Pooper Scoopers please visit www.jakespooperscoopers.com or call 714-928-POOP
Material sources: Randy Winn, Apaws.org and Joanna Osband