Backpacking and Hiking Forum - Backpackers' Basecamp

Coolkat
Trail Wise!

Posts: 3,047

Water Purifiers & Microorganisms Feb 22, 2021 12:01:58 GMT -8

Post by Coolkat on Feb 22, 2021 12:01:58 GMT -8

There are a ton of threads out there on specific water purifiers and their comparisons but that is not what I'm after here. Although I'm sure brands/models will be discussed.

But here is why I'm bringing this up. I'm planning a trip to Isle Royale this summer and I thought I had read in the past that there was an issue with the inland lakes and I found this from the National Park's website....

UV Purifiers
SteriPENs and other UV purifiers have not been manufacturer-tested for hydatid tapeworm, a common parasite found in Isle Royale waters and cannot be considered effective. Hydatid tapeworm (Echinococcus granulosus) is a parasitic tapeworm that requires two hosts to complete its life cycle. On Isle Royale, moose host larval tapeworms, which form hydatid cysts in their body cavity. In wolves, larval tapeworms mature and live in the small intestine. Adult tapeworms produce eggs which are expelled from wolves in feces, and consequently, the waters of Isle Royale. Find out more about hydatid tapeworm on the Center for Disease Control's website.

For over ten years I've used a SteriPen with no issues but in the name of safety I'll follow their advice and use a filter with a pore size smaller the .4 microns. But the website for the SteriPens say that it protects against "microorganisms".

So since I'm not a biologist can someone tell me what the difference is between a microorganism and this "hydatid tapeworm" is?

By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest. -- E. White

trinity
Trail Wise!

Posts: 2,890

Water Purifiers & Microorganisms Feb 22, 2021 12:20:44 GMT -8 Coolkat likes this

Post by trinity on Feb 22, 2021 12:20:44 GMT -8

This is an interesting question, and will hopefully be answered by someone more knowledgeable than I. However, I did contact the company several years ago, because I had treated some water and afterwards noticed an insect larva that was still swimming around. I wondered about this, and in response, they answered that:

"We have only tested the SteriPEN against viruses, bacteria, and protozoan. The SteriPEN will not be effective against macroscopic organisms."

My slightly-educated guess is that, since UV works by destroying DNA, it will stop any pathogen that needs to reproduce in order to cause illness. A steripen might disrupt some of the dna in a tapeworm egg, but perhaps it could still develop into an adult and cause problems. Also, damaging the DNA in a single-celled organism is likely to be much more catastrophic than in a multi-celled organism.

I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. -Soren Kierkegaard

High Sierra Fan
Trail Wise!

Posts: 11,110

Water Purifiers & Microorganisms Feb 22, 2021 16:03:51 GMT -8 trinity, Lamebeaver, and 1 more like this

Post by High Sierra Fan on Feb 22, 2021 16:03:51 GMT -8

The difference? Size. The UV from the SteriPen can fry the DNA of a single cell organism but not hit enough of a worm's DNA when it's made up of thousands and thousands of cells ( and so not considered a micro-organism, which is classical single celled). And cyst/eggs can be very stable to any sort of attack as they tend to have a very resistant outer shell, while a single cell microorganism only has a thin lipid belayer membrane on it's outside which UV can rip right through to get to the DNA. Wreck the DNA and the single cell stays single...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microorganism