Giardia Lambia is a protozoan, a single cell organism which forms a cyst around itself as the organism moves from the small intestine to the outside world. As these cysts are extremely infectious with as few as ten cysts required to infect an adult, and relatively hardy, Giardia has spread widely throughout the world. Because it is transmitted in human faeces, the waterways of many popular bushwalking and other outdoor recreational areas have been contaminated and we can safely predict that more will be affected in time. In some areas of the world particularly developing countries, it is thought that up to 100% of the population have been infected with Giardia by the age of two.
Giardia usually manifests itself with gut symptoms, and though not everyone who is infected with Giardia will become symptomatic a high proportion do. Characteristically symptoms do not appear until 1-3 weeks after infection. The most common early symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, belching, excessive wind, nausea and vomiting and diarrhea, though the latter may not always be present The acute infection generally lasts in excess of a week. Although any diarrhoea usually settles quickly the-other symptoms may persist for many years, either continuously, or in a relapsing episodic form. Specific treatment is simple and readily available, but unfortunately does nor prevent reinfection. A short course of Flaygl is the most common treatment, and has a cure rate of more than 80%. Other treatments are available for more persistent infection.
As the absolute diagnosis of Giardia can be quite difficult and treatment does not prevent reinfection, it is far better m take steps to avoid infection in the first place, The prevention of infection revolves around a number of simple principles. Firstly, if you are undertaking a relatively short walk, or day walk in a risk area, you can avoid infection simply by carrying all your drinking water from an uncontaminated area. Where the length of a walk makes carrying water impracticable, drinking water should always be boiled, chemically treated or filtered. Five minutes is adequate boiling time to kill Giardia, although it is worth noting that this may not be sufficient to remove other infectious organism. Many commercial sterilizing tablets will adequately deal with Giardia too, although the taste of some iodine based Products may not be to everyone’s liking! A good quality water filter is the third way of eliminating Giardia. It is important to remember when using filtration devices that their effectiveness is contingent on the carrying our of regular filter maintenance, in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions.
Taking these simple precautions and applying some common sense will not only drastically reduce the personal risk of infection, but also slow the rate Of dissemination of this nasty little beasty around the remaining pristine areas of our wilderness