Park entrances and children's playgrounds in Dublin are hotspots for dog poo parasites.
Roundworm eggs, that can be found in dog and cat faeces, were found in three quarters of twelve parks that were sampled in the capital.
Zoologists at Trinity College Dublin found most of the eggs were found at park entrances, followed by playgrounds.
Most people don't become ill after coming into contact with them but the worms can spread to parts of the body such as the liver, lungs or eyes, where they can cause serious problems like difficulty breathing or loss of vision.
Other research has also linked asthma, epilepsy and cognitive decline to the parasite.
Dr Jason Keegan, from Trinity’s School of Natural Sciences, is one of the author's of the research article.
"This new research specifically pinpoints the hotspots in Dublin’s public parks where egg counts are highest in soil samples, and that tells us where we need to target our intervention efforts.
By providing more signage, bins and a means to clean up after dogs in these locations, we could reduce the level of contamination – and that’s the next step in the research."
