- That’s why signs reminding pet owners to “curb your dog” and scoop their poop have been joined in some places by posted warnings that pet waste can spread disease.
- As a small-animal primary care veterinarian, I deal with the diseases of dog and cat poop on a daily basis.
- While human diseases caused by soil-transmitted parasites are considered uncommon in the U.S., they infect as many as an estimated billion people worldwide.
Abandoned poop’s impact on people
- Their microscopic larvae can get into your body through small scratches in your skin after contact with contaminated soil or via accidental oral ingestion.
- Once in the human body, both hookworm and roundworm larvae can mature and migrate through the bloodstream into the lungs.
- Hookworms can create a severely itchy condition called cutaneous larva migrans as the larval worm moves just under the skin of its host.
Once the parasite’s life cycle is complete, it may exit the host’s body as an intact adult worm, which looks like a small piece of cooked spaghetti.
The impact on other animals
- In addition to risks of hookworms and roundworms, pets are also vulnerable to whipworm, giardia and coccidia.
- Beyond parasites, unattended poop may also be contaminated with canine or feline viruses, such as parvovirus, distemper virus and canine coronavirus, that can create life-threatening disease in other dogs and cats, especially in adult animals that are unvaccinated and puppies and kittens.
- Coyotes, wolves, foxes, raccoons, minks and bobcats are at risk of contracting parvovirus, coronavirus and distemper.
Responsible pet poop management
- It’s safest to use a shovel to place the poop directly into a plastic bag, or put a baggie over your hand to grab the poop and then pull the plastic bag over it.
- While it’s tempting to leave the “soft-serve” or watery poops behind, these are often the more likely culprits for spreading diseases.
- Other potential sources of poop – and parasite – exposure are the sandbox, beaches and park sand found under and around playgrounds.
Julia Wuerz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
