Ecological aspects of contamination of recreational areas with animal excrement
I.N. Lykov, S.A. Kusacheva, V.K. Ilyin
Section: Social ecology
The accumulation of dog feces on city streets and recreation due to the habit of dog owners not to clean dog excrement
can be a serious environmental problem and adversely affect public health. Dog feces contain intestinal nematodes and
microorganisms that are pathogenic to humans and animals. In an urban environment, favorable conditions are created
for the infection of people and animals in contact with contaminated soil and sand in sandboxes. The purpose of this study
was to assess the extent of parasitic and microbial contamination of soils and sandboxes located in residential areas of the
city of Kaluga (Russia). Over the past 19 years, there has been an increase in the number of cats (by 15,060 individuals)
and dogs (by 26,550 individuals) in the city of Kaluga, which are carriers of Toxocara. We have studied 180 soil and sand
samples in various areas of the city. The pollution of soil and sand with Toxocara eggs has been reported in areas with high
population density, including playgrounds and kindergarten areas. The percentage of soil pollution of the boulevards by
Toxocara eggs is 4.9 times higher than the pollution of sandboxes and 1.9 times higher than the pollution of lawns. Most
often, mold fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor, Fusarium, Cladosporium, Candida, Alternaria, and Rhizopus
were sown from the soils of lawns and boulevards. Bacterial microflora is represented by Clostridium, Enterococcus, Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella and Micrococcus. The average number of microorganisms isolated from soil and sand samples
varied in the range from 1.5 to 3.0 million CFU per 1 g. The presence of micrococci and spores of the cladosporium fungi
characteristic of canine feces microbiome was revealed in the atmosphere of various districts of the city. This may be due to
contamination of the city territory with feces of dogs, which are one of the sources of bacterial pollution of the atmosphere.
ISSN 1995-4301
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