Giardia

If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise -- if you drink contaminated water. Learn how to keep today from being the day you get Giardia.

Children, parents and educators will enjoy using these educational plush toys to teach about hygiene, disease and the human body. Each microbe comes with a description of the disease it causes or function it performs. Use these fun, non-threatening toys to emphasize the importance of washing hands and preventing sickness in social settings.  Surface wash, air dry.

Giardia infection can occur through ingestion of dormant cysts in contaminated water, food, or by the fecal-oral route (through poor hygiene practices). The Giardia cyst can survive for weeks to months in cold water, and therefore can be present in contaminated wells and water systems, especially stagnant water sources such as naturally occurring ponds, storm water storage systems, and even clean-looking mountain streams. They may also occur in city reservoirs and persist after water treatment, as the Giardia cysts are resistant to conventional water treatment methods. Giardia infection is a concern for people camping in the wilderness or swimming in contaminated streams or lakes, especially the artificial lakes formed by beaver dams (hence the popular name for giardiasis, "Beaver Fever").
In addition to waterborne sources, fecal-oral transmission can also occur, for example in day care centers, where children may have poor hygiene practices. Those who work with children are also at risk of being infected, as are family members of infected individuals. Not all Giardia infections are symptomatic, and many people can unknowingly serve as carriers of the parasite.
The life cycle begins with a non-infective cyst being excreted with the feces of an infected individual. The cyst is hardy, providing protection from various degrees of heat and cold, desiccation, and infection from other organisms. Be sure to use a water purification product capable of killing giardia.