Giardia
Jargon
Definition
I managed to picked up a dose of Giardia in India a number of years ago and never ever want to get it again because it created havoc with my gut for a number of months after. From my perspective Giardia is the second most evil creature known to man with Ticks being number one; anything that has a smiley face on it under a microscope is just creepy.
So what is Giardia? Giardia is a parasitic organism that is common throughout the world, including in developed countries such as Australia and the USA and a strong reason to filter water, even when it appears to be clean. You can pick up Giardia from contaminated water sources, from handling contaminated food , surfaces, or objects.
Symptoms include extreme gastrointestinal distress (of the serious kind) which usually shows up several days after infection; not the sort of things you want to happen when you’re trying to hike. At the time of my bout a medical diagnosis of Giardia in Australia was reportable to the health authorities.
In my case the cure involved a nuclear strength dose of antibiotics, which didn’t work, which was followed up my a 30 day course which eventually did the job and in the process had a major impact on my gut.
Giardia duodenalis, also known as Giardia lamblia or Giardia intestinalis. This parasite is a single-celled parasite