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[pct-l] Belly Beasties

My hot weather passion has always been fresh water snorkeling,
which I've pursued in local creeks, lakes and rivers.  If you've ever
snorkeled you know it's virtually impossible not to intake some
water.  I've always wondered if I'd built up any immunity to
belly beasties. I still filter though and since I may have been infected

as a child, and was never treated, I worry that I may be a carrier.
Perhaps human carriers have been responsible for taking the beasties
up high, where the beavers don't go?


you wrote:
I believe Jardine (in the Handbook) hit the issue on the head when he
pointed out that most people have simply lost a certain resistance to
giardia because our systems get used to the (relatively) clean water
supply
from city or municipal sources. He exposed himself to the bug in small
amounts - like training - in the months before one of his later hikes,
and
reported no problems for the entire hike. If you think about it, this is
the
same way we build resistance to disease, as well as being similar to how

vaccines work. Giardia has always been there, we've simply grown apart
so
much that being reunited is traumatic<G>.



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