# Does bagging dog poo really stop disease spread ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2016, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016 "2016-07-27T10:58:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/1 "2016-07-27T10:58:14Z")
When a poo hits the ground does it instantly spread pathogens, worm eggs etc., or leave a disease laden smear, even if it is quickly bagged ? How much of a health hazard is this in places like parks ? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/2 "2016-07-27T11:02:34Z")
I think it’s less about disease spread as it is about not having parks and sidewalks covered in shit. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/3 "2016-07-27T11:12:12Z")
You can spread disease with even just a thin residue of poop. You can spread a lot more with the entire dropping. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/4 "2016-07-27T11:26:39Z")
Yeah, that’s about it. It’s about not leaving piles of dog poo lying around on the ground to decompose or for people to step in. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/5 "2016-07-27T11:42:13Z")
But the ground is still contaminated, yeah ? You wouldn’t eat your dinner off a plate that had a poop scooped off it… I hope… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/6 "2016-07-27T11:56:06Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > But the ground is still contaminated, yeah ? You wouldn’t eat your dinner off a plate that had a poop scooped off it… I hope… 🙂 I wouldn’t eat my dinner off of the ground even if I knew a dog hadn’t pooped there. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/7 "2016-07-27T12:06:01Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I wouldn’t eat my dinner off of the ground even if I knew a dog hadn’t pooped there. OK but would you lay on the area, maybe prop yourself up on your hands and warm yourself in the sun, and munch a sandwich ? Maybe a dog had plopped there an hour earlier, and it was bagged, and there is no obvious sign, but you put your hands right on it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/8 "2016-07-27T12:12:45Z")
I think it’s more for aesthetic than health reasons, especially as adults are concerned (they are less likely than young children to eat dirt, for instance). Cat dung would be a greater concern for me (toxoplasmosis). My current :eek: is baylisascaris (raccoon roundworm) and [baylisascaris encephalitis](http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/39/10/1484.full). Awareness of this disease and the phenomenon of “raccoon latrines” has permanently changed my view of these allegedly cute furry critters. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/9 "2016-07-27T12:16:57Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > OK but would you lay on the area, maybe prop yourself up on your hands and warm yourself in the sun, and munch a sandwich ? Maybe a dog had plopped there an hour earlier, and it was bagged, and there is no obvious sign, but you put your hands right on it. I appreciate your concern but it’s not like there is a nationwide epidemic of people getting infected by past poop at the park. In fact, I’ve never heard of one case. If it’s a major concern for you just skip the park. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/10 "2016-07-27T12:19:34Z")
Lets wait for some kind person to offer some studies and stats and wotnot. ---
**Author:** ![GunnarFranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/da6949/32.png) [@GunnarFranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GunnarFranz)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/11 "2016-07-27T12:19:35Z")
This is the least problematic problem I have heard on the internet to date. Don’t worry about it, drink some orange juice, you’ll be okay. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/12 "2016-07-27T12:31:13Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Lets wait for some kind person to offer some studies and stats and wotnot. [Peer-reviewed study!](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18977705) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/13 "2016-07-27T12:33:43Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Lets wait for some kind person to offer some studies and stats and wotnot. Your OP is based on a flawed premise. Parks require dog owners to pick up poop to keep there from being piles of poop at the park - so kids and adults don’t have to see them or worse step in them. The bags used for this are to keep the shit off of the hand picking it up. They are not used for keeping pathogens off of the grass. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/14 "2016-07-27T12:38:43Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > [Peer-reviewed study!](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18977705) You’re an angel, but isn’t that study for none-bagged poo ? I want to know how much contamination there is by swiftly removed turds. And pee too, there’s no doggy pee bag that I know of, and they don’t wear nappies. There should be a comparison study out there - contamination before and after scooping laws. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/15 "2016-07-27T12:40:21Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > OK but would you lay on the area, maybe prop yourself up on your hands and warm yourself in the sun, and munch a sandwich ? Maybe a dog had plopped there an hour earlier, and it was bagged, and there is no obvious sign, but you put your hands right on it. There is usually a small amount of visible residue remaining after the bulk of the material has been taken away. If there’s not, then the area is reasonably clean, and whatever amount is still there is acceptable. If I’m willing to lay down directly on the ground and risk getting dirt, crushed insects, grass juice and sundry other contaminants on my clothes, then an infinitesimal amount of dog shit isn’t a big concern. If I’m gonna eat a sandwich, I’ll first be taking steps to reduce the germ count on my hands or assure that my hands don’t come into direct contact with my food. This is without regard to whether my hands have recently touched shit-encrusted grass. OTOH, if I step in a giant pile of dog shit because some jerk dog owner was too lazy to clean up after his/her pet, I’m probably going to cancel lunch altogether; nobody wants to eat with a guy who has large quantities of shit smeared all over his shoe soles, and I will probably have lost my appetite anyway. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/16 "2016-07-27T12:42:15Z")
Thing is, though, worm eggs can stay in the ground for years. So your average public park must have a lot of infectious things in the grass even if modern life means poop is scooped. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/17 "2016-07-27T12:47:34Z")
Why stop at dog poo? What about bird droppings or squirrel poo or deer doo-doo or any number of other fecal leavings from any number of other creatures? How is it we’re not all dead? OK, maybe that’s a little snarky, but as has been mentioned repeatedly, the bagging is about keeping poo off passersby and anything else that might roll its way. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/18 "2016-07-27T12:50:57Z")
[quote=“Machine\_Elf, post:15, topic:761016”] If I’m willing to lay down directly on the ground and risk getting dirt, crushed insects, grass juice and sundry other contaminants on my clothes, then an infinitesimal amount of dog shit isn’t a big concern. [QUOTE] I’ve taken the same attitude, and I think most people hanging out in a park have too. Bu-u-ut, now I think about it, would I be so easy going about feces in any other context ? How about a waiter leaving shitty fingerprints on my plate, or even just my sleeve ? There would be a fight, and I wouldn’t be listening to the waiter explain that it was just a smear, and it will dry and I won’t hardly notice it in a few minutes especially as he’s pouring gravy on it now… And yet people have a totally different disgust reaction to rolling around in the grass. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/19 "2016-07-27T12:52:51Z")
Maybe, But does bird and squirrel poo compare to dog poo in degree of risk ? Dogs have a \*lot \*of diseases to offer. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/20 "2016-07-27T13:17:41Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > I’ve taken the same attitude, and I think most people hanging out in a park have too. Bu-u-ut, now I think about it, would I be so easy going about feces in any other context ? How about a waiter leaving shitty fingerprints on my plate, or even just my sleeve ? There would be a fight, and I wouldn’t be listening to the waiter explain that it was just a smear, and it will dry and I won’t hardly notice it in a few minutes especially as he’s pouring gravy on it now… > > And yet people have a totally different disgust reaction to rolling around in the grass. I, along with the local public health department, have certain expectations regarding the conditions to be found in a restaurant - one of which is that fecal matter isn’t allowed anywhere near food. And again, I won’t be eating a gravy-covered meal straight off of the grass in a public park. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016.md?page=2)