Sir, – Given the increasingly lax approach taken by so many dog-owners in Dublin city and county regarding hygiene and leash control, the case for stricter enforcement of dog control laws is self-evident.
As the author of the first estimate of the serological prevalence of toxocariasis (an illness caused by roundworms commonly found in dog faeces) in Ireland I can confirm that the levels of infection, ie the ingestion of dog faeces, are unacceptably high.
While studies have consistently found prevalence rates of between 2 and 3 per cent among adult populations in Europe and the US, the rates among children are much higher and my own studies in 1983 found rates of 18 per cent among children aged two to five years. Holland et al found a rate of 31 per cent in a larger survey of Irish children in 1994 and there is no reason to believe that these rates are any different today.
What these infection rates demonstrate is that children have ingested dog faeces, presumably as a result of indiscriminate fouling of the environment. Dog owners should be held responsible. While Dr Daniel Collins is correct, as stated in his letter (August 5th), that cases of actual blindness are less common, nevertheless there are a range of associated clinical symptoms and reactions with infection with toxocariasis which are more common and remain largely undiagnosed and unassessed.
The extraordinary prevalence of dog fouling around Dublin’s inner city and its suburbs demonstrates that Irish people are either ignorant of the dangers of dog faeces or couldn’t care less.
While infection is usually associated with children playing in sand pits, infection can equally occur from parks and centrally-heated homes when dogs are allowed the run of the house. Given that previous Irish surveys found that 82 per cent of dogs were infected, the need for stricter enforcement of the law is required. The authorities need to act. – Yours, etc,
Dr VINCENT KENNY,
Glenvara Park,
Dublin 16.