[pct-l] Seirra runs

[Steven.Setzer at Colorado.EDU (Steve Setzer)]

Bacteria usually has a much shorter incubation period.  It varies
depending on the type of bacteria and extent of infection but in a lot of
cases its almost immediate.  Bacteria is usually the culprate for most
types of food poisoning and, if you've ever had food poisoning, you know
it right away.

I've done a lot of travelling in "developing" contries and have often
gotten sick due to either bad food or water.  Usually withing a few hours
after eating, I'll know whether or not the food was bad. Then overnight it
hits.  So I guess that would be on the order of hours.  Bad food is
usually pretty contaminated so I would say maybe 1-2 days would be
the incubation period for bacterial infections from water. It all depends.

Usually bacterial infections give you a bad case of the runs that last
only a day or two but maybe up to a week.  It sounds like the Sierra runs
were caused by bacteria (I doubt it was Giardia - unless you had the
severe bloating that someone mentioned a while back - but who knows, I
wasn't there).  Anyway, bacteria can come from anywhere: animal crap
upstream, a dead animal lying in the creek upstream etc.

I talked with some people about the red snow and most said they doubted
that the algae would make you that sick, but algal blooms are often
breeding grounds for bacteria so that could explain it.  None were
suprised that people got sick in the Sierra.  The general response was
that the Giardia content may be too low, but bacteria can come from
anywhere. If your stomach is tough, you probably won't get sick.  If not,
you probably will at some point. If you drink out of streams all the time,
you're probably used to it (note: these people are expert stream
ecologists, snow hydrologists and drinking water engineers - its still
just their opinion, but I respect theirs more than some guy on the
street). For example, the locals in developing countries never get sick
from their food and water. Its only us foreigners that get sick because
we're not used to the bacteria.  After living somewhere (like Central
America for example) for several months, you can usually eat and drink
anything without getting sick.

Steve


> This is a good point.  Which brings to mind, what are the incubation periods
> of common bacteria and other protozoans that cause intestinal disorders?  Is
> Giardia, being a protozoan, longer than most?