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  • #16
    Montcalm, you may be right in some of what you just posted, but I'm pretty sure when Noah and others like him drank wild water Giardia wasn't here as, wasn't it brought over from Asia in the 50s/60s from mountain climbers who weren't to discreet in their toilet habits?
    It was from the 'new diseases' brought in that better sanitary habits around our waterways were developed from need.
    I recall all too many times just open excrement and tp on the trails, next to the streams and worse. [over flowing out houses, etc,].
    Even nowadays when folks know better they often continue to do their business on the trail or next a leanto, especially in winter and it wasn't 5 years ago I climbed East and S. Dix and there was truly 100s of piles of crap on each summit and it looked like a bus had stopped on each and everyone got off and took a dump. It was one of the most disgusting things I ever saw...and all that ran down hill when it rained.
    3 summers ago I stopped at the Nippletop/Colvin jct and couldn't believe the mess or the smell. I never did understand how someone could go hiking for miles and then be so lazy to crap on the trail.
    Last edited by Woodly; 02-02-2018, 06:51 PM. Reason: additional

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    • #17
      I get that, I was just joking around... I think the moose poop, although not very appetizing, is probably not gonna make you sick.

      As was stated earlier, humans brought it, and now humans and dogs are probably the most probable vectors.

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      • #18
        LOL, You likely are right on the moose poop, someone somewhere is probably making tea with it! Sick thought but probably true

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        • #19
          Originally posted by Woodly View Post
          ...Giardia wasn't here as, wasn't it brought over from Asia in the 50s/60s from mountain climbers who weren't to discreet in their toilet habits?
          No, from Mexico. It's Montezuma's Revenge.

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          • #20
            Probably from everywhere and Mexico, after reading a couple articles on Wikipedia and elsewhere.
            Fortunately I've never had it and I hope none of you get it.

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            • #21
              Interesting tidbit, according to the CDC website, dogs and people are affected by different strains of the Giardia protozoa. In fact they say that transmission from dogs to people is actually quite rare.

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              • #22
                Relevant to this topic. Dr. Joe Schwarcz (Professor of Chemistry at McGill University and debunker of fads) throws sunlight on the fad of drinking "raw water".

                Promoting untreated water in the face of everything we know today about water-borne disease is preposterous


                You know when someone is charging $37 for 2.5 gallons of "raw water", there's little real science involved and mostly hype in order to line someone's pockets. Making the gullible part with their money is a long-standing and thriving business.


                I remember, as a kid, when we traveled to the cottage by the lake up in the Laurentians, we'd fill jugs with well-water, and bring them back home. I don't recall anyone ever getting sick and it was a better-tasting alternative to Montreal's chlorinated water (nowadays I just use a carbon filter). Anyway, it was from a known-good source and no one was under the illusion it was somehow 'healthier' than tap water unlike proponents of "raw water".

                I do agree with Dr, Schwarcz that sanitation is one of the most important advances for human health. Keeping what we ingest away from what we expel is one of the simplest yet most effective 'public health benefits' humanity devised.
                Last edited by Trail Boss; 02-03-2018, 05:32 PM.
                Looking for views!

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                • #23
                  IIRC the most common vectors for giardia are: day care centers and public swimming pools.
                  "There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service

                  My trail journal: DuctTape's Journal

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                  • #24
                    Seems also other bacteria, viruses and protozoa get blamed for wilderness or travelers diarrhea. Forms of E. Coli seem to be the most common water borne pathogen, and there's a whole list of others beside Giardia.

                    Seems that also some people build a tolerance to these water borne pathogens. As I was reading, it's not uncommon for natives in a certain area where water is "polluted" to have zero symptoms whereas tourists will get the runs.

                    Maybe the mountain men of old had iron stomachs? Maybe the water was pure (less the occasional beaver or moose turd)? Guess we'll never know...

                    Personally, I'd rather take my chances drinking unknown, untreated water in the wilderness than in a city.

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by DuctTape View Post
                      IIRC the most common vectors for giardia are: day care centers and public swimming pools.



                      Caddy Shack (1980) A Baby Ruth candy bar gets knocked into Bushwood Country Club's swimming pool, and is mistaken for "Doodie!" Bill Murray as loopy Carl Spa...

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                      • #26
                        Nice!
                        "There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service

                        My trail journal: DuctTape's Journal

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                        • #27


                          "It's no big deal"

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                          • #28
                            giardia

                            In the ADKs and northern Maine beaver are a big source of Giardia. Any water in a beaver drainage is probably infected. Filtration works against Giardia, iodine is not reliable. Evacuation from the 100 mile wilderness is a tough way to learn this lesson. Once your giardia infection is established, you will become progressively debilitated and eventually too weak to carry your back pack (David Boomhower) so it's a dead serious matter for a wilderness thru hiker.
                            However, metronidazole (Flagyl) is pretty effective, so I do carry it.
                            Walt

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                            • #29
                              The Question: I’ve heard that it might not be healthy to swim in a pond with an active beaver colony in it, as something is in the water from the beaver that can be bad for humans. Do you kno…

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                              • #30
                                Back in the 80’s the University of Minnesota paid me to take feces samples ($2-3 per sample) of the the beaver and muskrats that I trapped in the Fish Creek and Salmon River watersheds.

                                Since the East Branch of Fish Creek is the City of Rome, NY water supply, giardiasis was a major concern. Although both beaver and muskrats carry the parasite, muskrats turned out to be the bigger concern.

                                Since the study Rome added a filtration system to their water supply.

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