Mrs Wells may be right to highlight the various other problems in the area (News Shopper, December 12 Get a Life, why worry about a bit of dog poo) but she should not underestimate the potential danger of dog faeces particularly for young children.
Toxocariasis is an infestation of humans, usually children, with a thread-like worm that lives in the intestines of dogs.
Children who play with soil contaminated with dog faeces and who then put their fingers in their mouths, may swallow some of the worm eggs which hatch and migrate to the liver, lungs, brain and eyes.
According to the British Medical Association, this can then cause pneumonia, seizures and even loss of vision.
That's why we should worry about a bit of dog poo.
S R G Pratt
Mooreland Road
Bromley
December 20, 2001 12:35
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