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Blue Dome
Now with Retsyn
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 3144 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cleaning up the dogma. |
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Blue Dome
Now with Retsyn
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 Wed Jun 15, 2005 9:47 pm |
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Blue bag anybody?
| Quote: | | Sanitation problems for climbers
Thursday, June 16, 2005 Posted: 12:15 AM EDT (0415 GMT)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) -- Mountaineers who ascend North America's loftiest peak are often brought down to earth by "virus-laden poo" left behind by previous climbers, a medical report says.
The unsanitary conditions created by piles of human feces on Mount McKinley can cause diarrhea among climbers, which can lead to widespread problems when combined with the physical stress of a mountain expedition, according to the report in the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.
Of 132 climbers interviewed on the 20,320-foot (6,200-meter) peak in the summer of 2002, more than a quarter reported having trouble with diarrhea, said the report, which was conducted by officials with the Alaska Division of Public Health…
"They think they're going out on a pristine climb and there's virus-laden poo all around them," said Dr. Bradford Gessner, a mountaineer and one of the study's authors…
The study recommends a campaign to better educate climbers about hygiene and to impose stiffer penalties for breaches. Climbers also should use alcohol-based hand sanitizers or other antiseptic cleansers after defecating, use purification tablets for drinking water and avoid crowded sleeping arrangements.
Such steps also are appropriate in other well-traveled climbing routes, like Washington's Mount Rainier and on Himalayan peaks, they said…
Because of the harsh conditions, piles of feces have accumulated at the mountain's crowded high camp, located at 17,200 feet (5,200 meters), Robinson said… |
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/06/16/alaska.reut/index.html
“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.”
— Harry S. Truman
“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.”
— Harry S. Truman
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Tazz
Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7902 | TRs | Pics
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Tazz
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Wed Jun 15, 2005 10:16 pm |
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wow... your just coming up all kinds of goodies tonight huh. 
I guess you could say if you pack it in you pack it out. 
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
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Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:31 pm |
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Forgive my ignorance, but I didn't think this sort of thing was news..?
But lissen: the thing that torques me is a stiff penalty for breaches. So now it's all about what people are wearing. Damn fashion police are everywhere nowadays.
"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate."
Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate."
Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Blue Dome
Now with Retsyn
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 3144 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cleaning up the dogma. |
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Blue Dome
Now with Retsyn
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Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:39 pm |
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| Tazz & Mania wrote: | | wow... your just coming up all kinds of goodies tonight huh. |
Yeah, it's not often you see the phrase "virus-laden poo" in the supposedly serious mainstream media. In any case, it's a good reminder for the newcomers.
“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.”
— Harry S. Truman
“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.”
— Harry S. Truman
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Allison
Feckless Swooner
Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 12287 | TRs | Pics
Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes |
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Allison
Feckless Swooner
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Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:45 pm |
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| Quote: | | and avoid crowded sleeping arrangements. |
I'm dumb. Can someone please explain how three to a tent leads to getting Crypto or Giardia?
www.allisonoutside.com
follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
www.allisonoutside.com
follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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Tazz
Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
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Tazz
Member
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Thu Jun 16, 2005 7:22 am |
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| Quote: | | I'm dumb. Can someone please explain how three to a tent leads to getting Crypto or Giardia? |
You are certainly not dumb.
I think what they are refereing to is sleeping in a tent for months on end. I could see how it could get unsanitary if you have several people jammed in a tent for months without washing their hands. They touch each others things and then eat without washing. Bacteria loves warm moist conditions and the warmest place in those conditions are the tents. In those conditions I could see how it would be easy to contract these said bacteria infections.
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum |
| marylou wrote: | | Quote: | | and avoid crowded sleeping arrangements. |
I'm dumb. Can someone please explain how three to a tent leads to getting Crypto or Giardia? |
I cant see how Mary Lou is dumb either. But back to the topic at hand. I don't belive that crowded sleeping arrangements is contributing to the passage of whatever is responsible for the RUNS they are getting.
You have to ingest these things, and how well does it survive outside the body? I mean on hands?
Ill have to look into it deeper.
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
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Allison
Feckless Swooner
Joined: 17 Dec 2001
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Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes |
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Allison
Feckless Swooner
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Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:07 am |
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Crypto and Giardia are cysts, not bacteria, and they are known to not survive well out of water.
I look forward to seeing the results of y'all's Google searches later today, as I can't for the life of me see how crowded sleeping conditions leads to the spread of G or C.
www.allisonoutside.com
follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
www.allisonoutside.com
follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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ActionBetty
Im a dirty hippie!
Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 4807 | TRs | Pics
Location: kennewick, wa |
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ActionBetty
Im a dirty hippie!
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Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:11 am |
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poo frozen in time
"If you're not living good, you gotta travel wide"...Bob Marley
"If you're not living good, you gotta travel wide"...Bob Marley
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum |
| marylou wrote: | | Crypto and Giardia are cysts, not bacteria, and they are known to not survive well out of water.
I look forward to seeing the results of y'all's Google searches later today, as I can't for the life of me see how crowded sleeping conditions leads to the spread of G or C. |
Yes but in water. Can they just hang out on peoples hands???
Interesting. I guess I'll no longer spend WEEKS in my tarp tent with two other people while waiting for the weather to clear so I can make it to Mason lake!
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
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jenjen
Moderatrix
Joined: 30 Jun 2003
Posts: 7617 | TRs | Pics
Location: Sierra stylin |
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jenjen
Moderatrix
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Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:21 am |
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| marylou wrote: | | I'm dumb. Can someone please explain how three to a tent leads to getting Crypto or Giardia? |
The article specifically mentions viruses, not cysts. All sorts of viruses and bacteria can cause diarrhea, the problem isn't just cysts. Rotavirus and adenovirus spring immediately to mind. Norwalk virus is what keeps causing problems on cruise ships.
Outside of the body, viruses are just inert particles of RNA. They can survive just about anything because there's nothing alive about them. Once they're inside the body they get absorbed by the cells and then cause problems. It's not a huge stretch for an absent minded climber to get norwalk virus on his hands and get sick because his body is stressed from living at altitude in extreme conditions. Once one guy in a tent gets diarrhea, it's kind of difficult to keep from passing it on to the tent mates.
If life gives you melons - you might be dyslexic
If life gives you melons - you might be dyslexic
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Tazz
Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7902 | TRs | Pics
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Tazz
Member
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Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:33 am |
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| Quote: | | By accidentally swallowing crypto picked up from surfaces (i.e., toys, bathroom fixtures, changing tables, diaper pails) contaminated with stool from an infected person |
| Quote: | | By accidently swallowing the parasite picked up from surfaces (i.e., toys, bathroom fixtures, changing tables, diaper pails) contaminated with stool from an infected person. Hands become contaminated by not following good handwashing practices, particularly after using the toilet, changing diapers, and before eating. |
look
Here is a scenario: Three guys have been in a tent for a month or more. They have been tent bound for days due to storms ect... They run out to use the bathroom. They do not wash their hands. They put their hands back into the warm environment of mittens and gloves. Crawl back in the tent and start cooking and eating food. they take there gloves off exposing the contaminated hands and touching cookware, sleeping bags, and other items in the tent. Then the others touch the same items and then eat there food with those unwashed hands.
I see how it could happen in that environment.
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Blue Dome
Now with Retsyn
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 3144 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cleaning up the dogma. |
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Blue Dome
Now with Retsyn
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Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:04 am |
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| Tazz & Mania wrote: | | I see how it could happen in that environment. |
Yeah, living in those close and relatively unsanitary conditions, it’s easy to catch bad stuff from tent mates.
“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.”
— Harry S. Truman
“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.”
— Harry S. Truman
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