In the past, it was not mandatory to pick up dog poop when they were taken out for a walk. It even looked weird that there were people who did it. Today, however, there are many places where pet owners are fined they don’t. This is logical, not only because of the bad aspect that turns cities into a minefield. Also because there are already many studies that show that these faeces represent a danger to other animals and to people.
All, or almost all, have ever suffered the incident of stepping on one. It’s often said to bring good luck, but no one has ever won the lottery or landed their dream job after stepping in dog poop. And if it has, we can assure without any doubt that it has had absolutely nothing to do with it. The only thing it brings are problems, which go a long way beyond the bad smell.
The dog poopas well as the feces of other animalsincluding humans, can contain a very varied range of microorganisms, like bacteria, and also some parasites. Within the former, some may be antibiotic resistant, With all of that implies. Ok, it is true that we cannot contract diseases through the shoe. But yes, those contaminated shoes may carry the bacteria to the floor of the house and from there to a child who is crawling or to a cushion that falls from the sofa. There are many ways in which dog poop is not left alone on the street, so it is better to pick it up, before its tenants spread where they should not.
Dog Poop Health Problems
In 2013, a team of scientists from the University of Bari, collected 418 dog poop samples from seven areas of this Italian city.
Its objective was to check if there were bacteria resistant to antibiotics or parasites that could be dangerous for humans. What they found in a greater proportion were bacteria of the genus enterococcus, many of them resistant to a wide range of antibiotics. The most abundant were E.faecium (61.6%), E. gallinarum (23.3%) and E. casseliflavus (5.5%). Other species were also isolated, including the E. faecalis. These strains were clindamycin resistant (86.3%), at the tetracycline (65.7%), erythromycin (60.27%) and ampicillin (47.9%). In addition, resistance was found to high level aminoglycosides (HLAR) in 65.7% of enterococci. Finally, it was found Staphylococcus aureus methicillin resistant in 0.7% of fecal samples
That about bacteria. But they also found cysts of a parasitic protozoan, called giardiain 1.9% of the samples.
the situation is getting worse
It should be noted that the vast majority of the antibiotic resistant bacteria that they met are not pathogenic to humans. However, at the time the authors of this study warned that their results were just a warning and that they could get worse for two reasons. On the one hand, because dogs have more and more contact with humans, so it is easier for bacteria to pass from one species to another. And, on the other hand, because the genes that give bacteria resistance to antibiotics can be shared between them. This occurs by a process called conjugationwhich occurs when two bacteria come into contact, creating a kind of channel between them through which they can exchange genes. Thus, a bacterium that is not pathogenic for humans can transfer resistance to antibiotics to another that is.
All this, As he recently explained in an article for The Conversation Melissa Starling, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sydney, has come true. There are already many subsequent studies in which it is shown that dog poop can be dangerous for humans. but also for him environment.
environmental hazards
If dog poop is not picked up, it can be washed away by rainwater and contaminate aquatic ecosystems, already loaded with antibiotic resistant bacteria. One need only look at the study that showed that dolphins contained some of these microorganisms.
It did not have to be exclusively due to canine feces, but it is true that it is something that can influence. They may seem few bacteria for so much water. However, according to research by the US Clean Water Campaign, a single gram of dog poop can have 23 million fecal coliform bacteriaas the Escherichia coli. These can cause a multitude of digestive symptoms, both to humans and to other dogs that come into contact with the feces, and also to the inhabitants of aquatic ecosystems.
What should we do with dog poop?
What we must do is what we have already been told actively and passively on many occasions: pick up the dog poop and Trow it to the trash. It is not worth with him compostajWhat can we do at home? It is better to throw it into organic waste containers, where it will be incinerated and those microorganisms that could be dangerous to the health of humans and other animals will be destroyed.
In any case, and even if this is done well, it does not hurt to keep the habit of taking off your shoes when you get home. We bought it in the COVID-19 pandemic and we quickly abandoned it, but the streets will always be dirty. Especially if there are children at home, do not forget to leave your shoes at the entrance. Just in case.