It may be the best reason yet to crack down on dog owners who leave poop behind: A new study says humans are breathing in the bacteria from dog waste. Air samples from two major cities find the most common bacteria in winter air is from feces, most likely from the biggest waste depositors -- dogs. Those bacteria levels with canine waste as a source could be up to 50%-percent.
The University of Colorado at Boulder says it's significant -- with between 10%-percent to 50%-percent of bacteria in the air seems to be derived from feces. Air samples from four Midwest cities — Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Mayville, Wisconsin, show those elevated bacteria levels, and researchers want to conduct sampling across the nation.
There's always bacteria in the air. The question researchers want answered is how much of that bacteria is related to dog poop. Researchers say the airborne bacterial communities of Detroit and Cleveland most closely resemble that of dog feces, that dog poop appears to be the the only explanation for results.
The winter air samples were taken when snow and leaves tamp down other sources of bacteria. And while bacteria is never absent from air, high levels of feces are obviously not good for humans.
A Florida HOA is taking DNA swap samples of canines, to find which dog owners are leaving dog poop behind.
An Arizona city is trying to turn dog poop into a light source in order to battle the problem of uncollected canine waste.
And a Taiwan city is offering gold bars to residents in exchange for bags of dog feces.
In the meantime, researchers say the study needs to extend beyond the Midwest -- to more parts of the nation. For now, researchers only have access to samples from the Midwest -- and that different cities could have different results. There's a push for nationwide research in bacteria related to dog feces. Cities like New York or Los Angeles, with high concentrations of people and pets, may want to hide their eyes.