[pct-l] Giaridia and treatment

[Tom Bache]

Glad to see that there are other people who drink the delicious back country
water the way the pioneers did.  I posted on this a couple months ago, but
the only response was from people lamenting the loss of the old days when
they would dip their cup into the streams and drink.  My point was that the
water isn¹t different from those old days --  but .... shouldn¹t
underestimate the power of scare stories (bet I¹d get a long thread started
if I drew an analogy with global warming, but I won¹t).

On point -- Jeff¹s note tells the story the way I understand it, but  I have
observed that many people consider untreated back country water to be like
poison.  I used to believe that too, but then looked up the facts and quit
treating except in obviously sketchy situations.  No problems so far.  Maybe
my immunity is a personal quirk, or maybe it¹s not.  Those who always treat
and never have problems can¹t know that treating is having any effect until
they do the experiment (any takers?).

I bought a Steripen (great product) for those few sketchy situations.  This
treats  by stirring the water in your bottle with a rod including a UV light
source.  Seems to me that water that spends time in bright sunlight is
getting much the same treatment.

To me, pushing your face into cold mountain springs and streams is part of
the fun of backpacking.  Filters and chemicals, and even Steripen, are a
hassle and intrusion.

Tom Bache
San Diego

Message: 5
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:03:13 -0600
From: Jeffrey Olson <jolson at olc.edu>
Subject: [pct-l] Giardia
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID: <46E9C1B1.7000108 at olc.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

The prevalence of giardia seems to be relatively small. I hiked until
the late 80s never filtering water or using iodine. When filter
manufacturers started producing filters they needed a market, and hence,
the big scare about giardia. As Brick said, 4% - 7% of us are carriers.

The article below says, "The CDC estimates that as many as 2,500,000
cases occur in the US, or about one for every 100 persons?every year."

"Since cysts that ?winter over? in the Sierra Nevada are either in
liquid water for considerably more than 2 to 3 months, or exposed to
freezing temperatures, few?if any?survive the harsh Sierra winters. So,
except for pollution by winter visitors and non-hibernating animals,
/Giardia/ contamination in the high country must begin essentially anew
each spring."

"Recall that San Francisco water can contain a concentration approaching
0.12 cysts per liter, a figure now seen to be higher than that measured
anywhere in the Sierra."

"If you are unlucky enough to get giardiasis with symptoms, the symptoms
will probably be gone in a week or so without treatment. You may still
be harboring the cysts, however, and can unknowingly spread the disease.
Thus, practicing commonly recommended wilderness sanitary
habits?defecating 100 feet from water, burying or packing out feces and
toilet paper, washing before handling food, etc.?is an excellent idea."

"The water that wilderness travelers are apt to drink, assuming that
they use a little care, seems almost universally safe as far as Giardia
is concerned. The study referred to earlier,^3 in which the researchers
concluded that the risk of contracting giardiasis in the wilderness is
similar to that of a shark attack, is telling. What they did find is
that /Giardia/ and other intestinal bugs are for the most part spread by
direct fecal-oral or food-borne transmission, not by contaminated
drinking water. Since personal hygiene often takes a backseat when
camping, the possibility of contracting giardiasis from someone in your
own party?someone who is asymptomatic, probably?is real. Recalling that
up to 7 percent of Americans, or up to 1 in 14, are infected, it is not
surprising that wilderness visitors can indeed come home with a case of
giardiasis, contracted not from the water?but from one of their friends."

      /?Given the casual approach to personal hygiene that characterizes
      most backpacking treks, hand washing is likely to be a much more
      useful preventative strategy (for Giardia) than water
      disinfection!//^ //^[viii] / <#_ftn8>/ This simple expedient,
      strictly enforced in health care, child care, and food service
      settings, is rarely mentioned in wilderness education materials.?
      ^3 / 

Hygiene seems to be the biggest factor, and yet, who knows why any one
person gets it. The article below is interesting...

Jeff, just Jeff
Martin, SD

http://lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/pcs/articles/giardia.asp