Dog fouling
Dog fouling is a big concern, not just because of the mess it causes, but because it can be a health risk.
Report dog fouling
All calls will be treated in confidence and the information will be acted upon.
Phone: 0191 427 7000
Text: 07786 200802
Dogs faeces can contain roundworm eggs (toxocara canis), which become infectious after about three weeks, and can remain so for up to two years.
Anyone, but particularly children playing near to the ground, can run the risk of picking up and swallowing the eggs. The eggs then hatch in the intestine, burrow through the intestine wall into the blood stream and pass into the body.
Symptoms of toxocaral infection range from aches, dizziness and nausea to asthma and pneumonia, but as these symptoms can all be caused by other things, infections often go undiagnosed. In rare cases eye disease and loss of vision can be caused when the toxocara larva passes through the eye.
Did you know...
- Around 100 cases of toxocariasis are diagnosed each year in the UK
- Local authorities in the UK receive approximately 226 000 complaints about dog fouling every year
- The cost to British taxpayers of clearing up after dogs is around £2.3 million per year
- It is an offence for anyone in charge of a dog on public land to fail to remove dog faeces deposited by that dog
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