Having a pet means that you will need to take care of their poop when your dog doesn't defecate, you instantly know there is a problem that needs to be urgently fixed, and it can be annoying to have your pet pooing all around the house, that is why you need to potty-train your pet. However, we must bear in mind that, poops from our pets can carry certain germs like parasites and bacteria that will get people sick, so how careful should we be around the poop of our pet and what effort should we put into maintaining the safety of our health, is what I will be writing about in this post and I do hope that significant lessons would have been learned at the end.
Several pathogens can be found in an animal stool, and the animals infected with intestinal pathogens could actually be asymptomatic, could have diarrhea, or may even develop systematic disease. Infections in pets, such as ascariasis and giardiasis are easily detectable during a routine fecal test, but other intestinal zoonotic infections in pets like toxoplasmosis, salmonellosis, and colibacillosis would require a more advanced level of testing.
The poops from pets can contaminate the airways and cause harm to the environment, that is a serious need why you have to practice healthy pet poop habits, as well as train your kids to do the same, this way yourself, your family, and the environment at large will maintain great health.
Research has shown that almost two-thirds of human pathogens and three-quarters of upcoming pathogens are zoonotic, for a long time experts have focused on the zoonotic transmission of respiratory alongside vector-borne pathogens, but lesser emphasis has been placed on animal feces transmitted through water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Children are affected by these pathogens and they may experience a long-term growth shortfall after their exposure. Pregnant women and people whose immune systems are compromised may experience a long-term adverse effect after exposure. Human exposure is very common in developing countries, those countries that may not have a proper system in place for domestic animals and their faces to stay away from domestic environments.
Although some children and adults in high-income countries also get exposed to animal feces which tends to get them vulnerable to bacteria and infection, it is more common amongst middle to low-income earning nations.
Having exposure to great water quality and quantity, observing proper handwashing would reduce to a significant extent, how humans are affected. Reduced attention has been given to the association of animal feces with human infection, animals are usually in the domestic environment in LMICs, and those in the country have frequent exposure to them. Therefore, even with sanitation efforts, there would be a reduced quantity of human excreta from the environment, and regular contamination from animal feces would still contribute greatly to the burden of disease in humans. When the burden of disease from animal feces is greatly understood, there would be a provision of critical information to the Department of public health investments. Environmental Protection Agency has even listed dog poop as the 3rd on the list of non-point sources of environmental contamination, this means that the contamination is not just from a single source, but from millions of dogs.
Now, that there is a consideration of a problem caused by a lot of pet owners, how can that now be handled? The first and major thing to do is thorough education, education is the first step that guarantee's the avenue to a healthy environment. Education is very important because so many pet owners believe that, dog waste would naturally disappear into the dirt, but what they do not understand is that a single roundworm lays about 200,000 eggs every day, and it can persist for years if there is no effect from concentrated bleach solution or flame thrower.
Let me take the time to highlight some of the human diseases that are transmitted through dog poop, From bacteria we have;
Campylobacteriosis with symptoms like; cramping, diarrhea, and fever alongside abdominal pain, the illness would typically last for as long as a week, but for people whose immune system is compromised, Campylobacter could spread into the bloodstream and lead to a life-threatening infection.
E.coli and other existing fecal coliforms live inside the intestine of several other animals. Some strains of E.coli can get escaped into the bloodstream, or cause stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and cramps, for cases of people who have a weak immune system, E.coli infection could lead to death.
Salmonellosis happens to be the most common bacterial infection that can be transmitted to humans through other animals. The symptoms of Salmonellosis include; vomiting, diarrhea, muscle ache, fever, and headache.
Yersiniosis is a case of a bacterial disease that could create intestinal infections in humans, Yersiniosis can multiply in cold water unlike other bacteria and once they get access to water bodies like springs, puddles, ponds, and lakes, they would multiply in significantly large numbers.
From parasites on the other hand;
Cyclospora infection would incubate in the body of a weak person and then start to cause gastroenteritis that can wax and wane for more than a month.
Cryptosporidium and Giardia are microscopic parasites that are found in water, they can cause intestinal diseases.
Roundworm Includes whipworm and hookworm larvae which could migrate all through the body into the brain, lungs, eyes, heart, kidneys, or even the eyes, roundworm larvae could result in blindness.
Tapeworms have the ability to infect humans through skin pores or ingestion, they get attached to the intestine and then absorb nutrients from the host too.
Toxoplasmosis is a cat-carrying parasite that can cause birth defects when a woman is infected during pregnancy as well as those who have a depressed immune system.
Laying more emphasis on education, what's the right way to handle your pet's poop, and the right way is through, picking up dog poop and disposing it off appropriately.
Always clean up areas where pets poop, especially areas where kids play. Regularly take care of litter boxes on a daily and change the litter completely every week.
If there is a person who has a weak immune system or a pregnant person, they shouldn't be allowed to change litters, pet litter should also be kept away from children, food, and areas where other humans stay. Even if your immune system is strong and you are not pregnant, ensure to practice safe hygiene while taking care of your pet. Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water after taking care of your pet, also remember to supervise your children around pets.
References.
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/vet/docs/Educ/AnimalFecesandDisease.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5647569/
https://www.cpha.ca/human-diseases-transmitted-dog-poop
https://www.petbutler.com/blog-diseases-from-dog-poop/
https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/connect/newsletter/pet-poop-saftey.html