Giardia in the water

[Joe S.]

From what I understand, Giardia is a microscopic protozoan that can wreak havoc with your intestinal system if you consume water it is found in. I think it stems from the presence of deer?

 

[Refrigerator]

CDC - Giardia

 

[Barney]

You can use various portable water filters that can remove it from the water but there are always tinier dangers like viruses that these filters can't kill. It's better to use water purification tablets or boil the water.

 

[Refrigerator]

BARNEY....there are no reported VIRUSES in the UNITED STATES. Doesn't mean there won't be tomorrow. NOW 3rd world countries is another thing. There are water filters you can Backpack with that do remove Viruses and are EPA approved..

I own several of these and they work quite well.

Products - Katadyn Products Inc.

 

[Grandpa]

Giardiasis, also known as beaver fever, has a wide range of hosts, including man. Most reputable filters will remove it. Backpacker magazine did an excellent article on this billion dollar filtration industry a few years ago. Bottom line is seldom does it occur but if you get it once you'll wish you had filtered/treated every time. I use a hiker pro and since I have never got Giardia, It "must" work, but then I have never had an elephant attack me since I started using it so it must repel them too.

 

[le Metis]

Giardia in only one of many pathogens that lurk in the water....such as fascioliasis (liver fluke disease) passed by cattle, buffalo, sheep. And, I'm waiting for this one to eventually show up in our water ways.....schistosomiasis

 

[Bud]

So it sure sounds like it's not a good thing to let your dogs take a long, cool drink of water out of a stream along the way on a hot day either.....

 

[BCBabe]

Cryptosporidium is also an issue in the warmer months; Beaver Fever is so well known in BC that most folks my age have suffered with it at least once (and of course, much wiser for the experience).

Between boiling and iodine purification tabs, I'm determined not to relive a certain experience? Hahaha

 

[YogiBear]

There was something in our drinking water a while back can't remember what it was called but I know it affected our stomachs and made me sick. It isn't uncommon from what I understand and not everyone is affected by it. Sorry I can't think of what it was.

 

[Grandpa]

There is always some possibility we can pick up a harmful pathogen in everything we eat, drink or touch. It's just not something I care to worry about. I try to filter all my drinking water but am not afraid to drink unfiltered running water in the mountains if I have to. Do your homework before a trip. I know of springs that even have naturally occuring arsenic in them (not mining related). These are usually well know by the rangers and guide books as well as the locals. Check before you go.

When I was twelve, a parent hauled us up to the mouth of a canyon near here. Three of us packed in 3 or 4 miles, set up camp, drank plenty of the water we were going to fish in the next day. The second day we fished downstream, came back that evening, drank more of the water, washed in it, cooked our food with it. The third day we headed upstream to fish. Just around the bend, less than 100 feet from where we got our water, lay a dead elk in the middle of the creek. We just shrugged and looked at each other, and kept on fishing. No harmful consequences. Good immune systems? or no harmful pathogens? Don't know and don't care. With all these nice systems available today, I do use them but don't really dwell on the negative possiblities.

 

[Trailer]

I've drank stream water before too, to later find a dead sheep in it when I hiked up the mountain. Yes, we have good immune systems. And ultimately, humans evolved drinking water like that.

 

[Grandpa]

The biggest issue is do not let yourself get dehydated when you are out of range of immediate help. The incubation period for ghiardia (the most likely pathogen you will encounter) is about 96 hours before the nasties set in whereas dehydration becomes critical immediately. By all means filter, treat, or boil if possible but failing the means to do that, drink it anyway.

 

[IndianaHiker]

Ghiardia yes it is out there and some of us probable have it to some degree in our bodies at all times. Yes I use a Steri Pen or a filter most of the time but not always. I really do not believe that is is a dangerous as we are lead to believe by the industry that makes all the purification gear and chemicals. Have read some studies where some come in contact with it and yes they became host but never get sick from it.

Once again hike your own hike and do what feels right for you.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

When I did an AT section hike in Virginia back in June, we used a filter at all times.

About half of the thru-hikers I talked to never used one, and of those who did maybe a quarter of them only used it when the water looked dirty.

I'd say the odds are in your favor if you're careful about where to get your water, BUT, if you play the odds, you may be laid up for a while if you come down on the wrong side of them.

There were some pretty good water sources on the section we hiked, when we were there, but I imagine that as the summer went on, a lot of them dried up. It was a REALLY dry summer here.

 

[hummingbird]

Yeah, we had that too WVbream. It was so dry I watched two trees fightin' over a dog. But then we've had dry summers for the last two years. I have heard the brain eating amoeba is in some of the water sources we are exposed to. However, it is supposed to be harmless when we drink it. The same water, if used as a sinus rinse, will introduce the amoeba to the brain. and will kill you if you contract it.

I have no problem though, you have to have a brain to be in danger. I lost mine many, many years ago.

 

[ppine]

Le Metis,
Scistosomiasis is a tropical disease made famous at Lake Victoria in Africa. It requires relatively warm water to carry out its life cycle.