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Just how bad is flushing your dog or cat’s poop down the toilet?

By on June 6, 2024

In Japan, whatever waste your dog makes outdoors is your responsibility to pick up.

Unlike human waste that can easily be flushed away down the toilet, pet waste can not. The obvious reason is that it contains debris, grass, dirt, and other materials that can clog and damage the plumbing system.

Under the Sewerage Law or the Tokyo Metropolitan Sewerage Ordinance, there are no regulations or concrete restrictions on flushing pet feces and urine down the toilet.  However, because disposal of large amounts of (animal) feces and urine could potentially clog drainage pipes, the authorities tell people to dispose them as general waste instead.

But there’s another grim reason that has received little attention in Japan.

Ben, a UK-based veterinarian, took to social media to explain just that.

According to Anglian Water Services that supplies water and operates the sewage system in the East of England, “The sewer network is not suitable for this kind of waste because of the presence of Toxocara (also known as roundworm) in animal faeces, which is tolerant of the relatively high temperatures and harsh conditions found in the final digestate stage in processing the used water that comes through to the treatment works from sinks and toilets.”

“The reason toxocara is a worry is because it’s zoonotic, we can pick it up and children are particularly susceptible,” says Ben.

He further explains that humans are an ‘intermediate host’ for toxicara which means that – “we don’t develop the adult worms in our intestines but what happens is that we accidentally swallow the eggs (in poop particles) which hatch into larvae and these move around inside our bodies.”

Contact with toxicara could develop into visceral larva migrans infection from the eggs produced by these worms. “It’s where the larvae move around inside internal organs like the liver,” Ben adds.

The larvae burrow out of your intestines and into other tissues in your body where they eventually die. This damages your tissue and causes any symptoms you might experience.

It often affects children who play in dirt contaminated with pet poop. Ben warns, “There’s also evidence that exposure to toxocara in childhood can reduce cognitive development and IQ.”

“Another form is ocular larva migrans where the larvae move to the eye and cause damage to the retina, potentially leading to sight loss.”

According to Dr. Liji Thomas, an ocular larva migrans infection can also be a result of accidentally ingesting soil through fruits and vegetables grown in such soil or if it is used as compost. “Soil lodged on the hands may enter the food chain if hand-washing does not occur after working or playing outdoors or with animal hosts of the roundworm.”

At the end of the video, Ben reminds pet owners to worm their pets regularly to reduce the chances of shedding out these eggs.

Generally, veterinarians advise routine veterinary care for your pet, disposing of pet feces right away and frequent handwashing.

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