who here knows about giardia?

I was at the vet's the other day and they were treating a Labrador for this
parasite. It supposedly comes from the dog drinking from a natural waterway
where "infected" flukes were present. My fish have never had flukes, but I
wonder if it would hurt our neighbor's dog if he drank water from my pond
and they actually had a case of them before I knew of it. Flukes are bad
enough, but "infected" ones? I wouldn't worry about it, but it just made me
wonder because he is such a nice dog.

Ann in Houston wrote:

I was at the vet's the other day and they were treating a Labrador for
this
parasite. It supposedly comes from the dog drinking from a natural
waterway
where "infected" flukes were present. My fish have never had flukes, but
I wonder if it would hurt our neighbor's dog if he drank water from my
pond and they actually had a case of them before I knew of it. Flukes are
bad
enough, but "infected" ones? I wouldn't worry about it, but it just made
me wonder because he is such a nice dog.

Not much, but some. Giardia is known as "Beaver Fever". I'm not remotely
sure that there's any relationship between fish flukes and the flukes your
vet was talking about. Probably not. However, Giardia is now so endemic
in North America that you can not safely drink untreated water from any
stream. The problem is, many municipal drinking water systems (Thunder
Bay, Ontario, is the largest I know of) have discovered Giardia even in
their _treated_ water.

Remember how as a kid you'd just make sure the water wasn't muddy before you
drank from it? Don't even think about it now. Giardia isn't a deadly
disease, afaik, but you never get rid of it. Sort of like the Malaria of
the beaver world.

As for the neighbor's dog, there's not much you can do. If your fish pond
is infected, it had to have come from somewhere, and the likelihood would
be nearby streams.
--
derek

As for the neighbor's dog, there's not much you can do. If your fish pond
is infected, it had to have come from somewhere, and the likelihood would
be nearby streams.
--
derek

Thanks, Derek. Even though the brochure from the vet did say it was fish
flukes that carry the parasite, I won't worry about Pablo, since we have no
streams nearby.
Ann

Derek Broughton wrote:

Giardia isn't a deadly
disease, afaik, but you never get rid of it.

Giardia can be deadly and you can get rid of it.

Giardia causes severe dehydration which can be deadly if not treated. A
friend of mine got giardia while hiking the Appalachian Trail and almost
died before he could get to a hospital. He was hospitalized for a while.

Giardia can be cured by treatment with drugs such as metrodiazole
(Flagyl) or nitazoxanide. If a single cyst remains in the body,
reinfection can occur. In this case further treatment is necessary.
Some doctors have other courses of treatment for cases that are very
difficult to cure.

The disease is caused by cysts and trophozoites that are a type of
giardia, a protozoan flagellate. A single cyst can cause an infection.

The infection is called giardiasis. Giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis) is
a diarrheal illness caused by a one-celled, microscopic parasite,
Giardia intestinalis (also known as Giardia lamblia ). Once an animal or
person has been infected with Giardia intestinalis , the parasite lives
in the intestine and is passed in the stool. Because the parasite is
protected by an outer shell, it can survive outside the body and in the
environment for long periods of time. During the past 2 decades,
Giardia infection has become recognized as one of the most common causes
of waterborne disease (found in both drinking and recreational water) in
humans in the United States.

If one must drink water of uncertain sources, boiling kills the parasite
instantly. You do not have to boil the water for 5-10 minutes. As soon
as the water comes to boil, the parasite is killed.

Great information, Stephen. Thanks much.

Nedra

"Stephen M. Henning" wrote in message
...
Derek Broughton wrote:

Giardia isn't a deadly
disease, afaik, but you never get rid of it.

Giardia can be deadly and you can get rid of it.

Giardia causes severe dehydration which can be deadly if not treated. A
friend of mine got giardia while hiking the Appalachian Trail and almost
died before he could get to a hospital. He was hospitalized for a while.

Giardia can be cured by treatment with drugs such as metrodiazole
(Flagyl) or nitazoxanide. If a single cyst remains in the body,
reinfection can occur. In this case further treatment is necessary.
Some doctors have other courses of treatment for cases that are very
difficult to cure.

The disease is caused by cysts and trophozoites that are a type of
giardia, a protozoan flagellate. A single cyst can cause an infection.

The infection is called giardiasis. Giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis) is
a diarrheal illness caused by a one-celled, microscopic parasite,
Giardia intestinalis (also known as Giardia lamblia ). Once an animal or
person has been infected with Giardia intestinalis , the parasite lives
in the intestine and is passed in the stool. Because the parasite is
protected by an outer shell, it can survive outside the body and in the
environment for long periods of time. During the past 2 decades,
Giardia infection has become recognized as one of the most common causes
of waterborne disease (found in both drinking and recreational water) in
humans in the United States.

If one must drink water of uncertain sources, boiling kills the parasite
instantly. You do not have to boil the water for 5-10 minutes. As soon
as the water comes to boil, the parasite is killed.

"Stephen M. Henning" wrote in message
...
snip
If one must drink water of uncertain sources, boiling kills the parasite
instantly. You do not have to boil the water for 5-10 minutes. As soon
as the water comes to boil, the parasite is killed.

Boiling time is something I have seen discussed before, and the best
argument for a 5 minute boil is that at different altitudes boiling
temperatures vary. A good 5-10 minute boil is a general rule of thumb for
safety. I prefer a proper water filter system, and keep one in my pack for
all trip longer then a few hours.

BV.

On or about Wed, 20 Oct 2004 10:15:02 -0300, Derek Broughton
was seen typing:

Ann in Houston wrote:

I was at the vet's the other day and they were treating a Labrador for
this parasite. It supposedly comes from the dog drinking from a natural
waterway

Remember how as a kid you'd just make sure the water wasn't muddy before you
drank from it? Don't even think about it now. Giardia isn't a deadly
disease, afaik, but you never get rid of it. Sort of like the Malaria of
the beaver world.

Yup. We have a special portable water bottle for this that has a
filter that will take the spores out. It goes on every trip with us.
Look for the aqua filter line at GoNowShop.com

Just another reason to wash up after every pond visit, especially for
values of "Visit" that include "immersion."

"Have a nice trip?"

--
Crashj

"Ann in Houston" wrote in message
m...
I was at the vet's the other day and they were treating a Labrador for
this
parasite. It supposedly comes from the dog drinking from a natural
waterway
where "infected" flukes were present. My fish have never had flukes, but
I
wonder if it would hurt our neighbor's dog if he drank water from my pond
and they actually had a case of them before I knew of it. Flukes are bad
enough, but "infected" ones? I wouldn't worry about it, but it just made
me
wonder because he is such a nice dog.

Giardia is a problem in any waterway where animals have defecated in or near
the water. It's a common problem for backcountry hikers. It's the main
reason many hikers, filter their water. Many hikers joke about going on the
Giardia Diet, in which no matter how much you eat, you lose weight because
you are unable to digest anything. LOL.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasi...ht_giardia.htm

BV.

Benign Vanilla wrote:

Giardia is a problem in any waterway where animals have defecated in or
near the water. It's a common problem for backcountry hikers. It's the
main reason many hikers, filter their water. Many hikers joke about going
on the Giardia Diet, in which no matter how much you eat, you lose weight
because you are unable to digest anything. LOL.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasi...ht_giardia.htm

D**n. I didn't want to know that much about it. Now my hypochondria is
telling me I've had it for 20 years... It would explain how I've not quite
managed to get fat on my wife's cooking.
--
derek

"Ann in Houston" wrote:

I was at the vet's the other day and they were treating a Labrador for this
parasite. It supposedly comes from the dog drinking from a natural waterway
where "infected" flukes were present. My fish have never had flukes, but I
wonder if it would hurt our neighbor's dog if he drank water from my pond
and they actually had a case of them before I knew of it. Flukes are bad
enough, but "infected" ones? I wouldn't worry about it, but it just made me
wonder because he is such a nice dog.



Hi Ann,

One of my dogs was diagnosed with it about a year ago. She was treated and
was fine. They all drink from the pond and that is the first time any have
been found ill because of it. If you take the pet to the vet early enough,
it should not be a problem. Try doing a google search on giardia and it will
tell you all you need to know.


San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar.



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