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Evidence Based - concerning Wilderness H2O
Posted by Brian Richardson on Jan 06 2005
I think most here will be relieved by more evidence-based Medicine in the wilderness recently concerning the safety of backcountry water.
Evidence-based practice has shown the leading cause of human sickness related essentials is dirty human hands and not the water straight from the wilderness waters… even in areas known to have contaminants (coliform, animal/human impacts, giardia, pathogens, bacteria… etc. In most cases concentrations for markers are so low and often undetectable with limits on technology. For Example - Salmonella is the affliction of developing nations while analysis advocates that North American wilderness waters are not a source!!! Most wilderness waters contain harmless top-water flora and are merely just as much a part of the food chain as fish.
A survey and Meta analysis failed to find evidence confirming giardiasis as a problem in association w/ consumption of wilderness water even if from a single source of relatively high concentration of G lamblia. Latest studies demonstrated that you’d have to drink some 7 liters of the stuff to get sick with an infestation – contrary to all it takes is one gulp.
Hand washing or using Alcohol-based cleansers is by far the most important strategy!
Diluting this concept of cleaning is said to have more impact on your health outdoors than any other means of preventing gastrointestinal infections. Lastly, and of course,,, paying attention to water source, environment, and water treatment methods are still a good idea – but essentially this brings out the concept to the contrary that there is no epidemiological evidence that North American Waters in the wilderness are inherently unsafe for consumption. Medicine is now showing “evidence-based” that the existing practices of universally treating wilderness water is supported on deficient or incorrectly interpreted information.
Thought this may elevate some brow tines –
Brian Richardson
http://www.northernrim.com
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