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If you read the report you see that the filters, while imperfect, still do a pretty good job of screening out the larvae so anyone with a decent filter setup is being challenged with fairly low numbers of larvae. Also while experiments with mice seem to show infection is possible through drinking, contact with wounds, anal, vaginal, and mucous membrane exposure those are far from the most productive means of infection.
Drinking the water means you might get only a couple at a time. Bathing in the water presents an even lower risk. I just don't see catchment water being a huge risk factor for a debilitating infection.
If you have a 20 micron spiral wound filter followed by a 5 micron carbon block filter, which many people already have just to scrub residual chlorine, you are already at a level where you may not ever be exposed to larvae and at worst case you would only see the odd one now and then. If you only bathe in the water those will probably bounce right off you. I don't know about anybody else but I'm almost 60 and have had arthritis half my life. How would I even know what that stiff neck was from?
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If you have a 20 micron spiral wound filter followed by a 5 micron carbon block filter...
So although the report by Kay Howe and the Jarvi team has found it is possible for rat lundworm larve to enter home water systems through our catchment-filter-plumbing, it's not a probable source of infection?
(Assuming all regular maintenance and precautions are observed, such as filters replaced when necessary & properly installed, chlorine added to your catchment tank, etc.)
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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A friend of mine is a terrific gardener. He has been eating vegies from his garden and greenhouse almost daily for over 30 years. He does see the slugs around, sometimes even in his greenhouse. Of course he washes, etc., but that's a lot of potential exposure. He thinks that perhaps over time he has built up a resistance or even immunity. I never heard this suggested before. Could this be possible?
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If you incorporate the features we have been discussing then catchment water is not a probable source of infection. Picking a hose off the ground and sucking a mouthful of muck off the bottom of a tank while siphoning circumvents these safety precautions and introduces some other risks, like there might have been a slug actually hanging out inside the hose. It seems proper to keep these scenarios separate and not lump them all under "catchment water". All that being said I have seen some catchment systems that are little more than open stagnant puddles. I tend to forget that I actually enjoy building and fiddling with my systems whereas it is like taking out the garbage for others and will be totally neglected. Composting toilets work great too but have a similar potential to degenerate into stinking piles of poop with flies buzzing around so I can see where in both cases the powers that be almost have to focus on the worst case scenario.
As for immunity I doubt it is possible but I am no expert. I have no qualms about eating things I can wash but leafy vegetables are a great concern. After my experience with the can of soup my gut tells me that anything could get a slug on it and must be checked whether you grew it on site or brought it in and laid it down for a while.
ETA: IMO
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"Built right" is a nebulous concept though. Most people still have a cylindrical tank with a tarp cover, which isn't ideal. That said, despite them being reported to climb trees, I've never seen a semislug even on the outside of my tank or house, only on the ground. The giant African snails do occasionally climb up the sides, but I've never found a shell while cleaning the tank.
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I have seen semi-slugs crawling across the shade cloth cover on my 10,000 gallon corrugated steel tank at least a couple of times. The risk is definitely there that the slugs will find a way into the tank. I had taken the cap off of my first flush device at one point and was just running on what was in the tank so there was access there and no water in the overflow. After a few weeks I discovered slug trails inside the piping that had always been clean before. That horrified me. I disassembled what I could and cleaned the dickens out of everything, then plugged the system inside the tank and filled it from the roof down with a heavy clorox solution for a few hours, then put a quart into the tank through the piping so it would create a zone of death in the bottom of the tank. I had not read this report yet but I already suspected that the larvae and certainly the slugs would sink. At that point I put screen over the outlet of the overflow. Pretty stupid that I hadn't already done so. At this point there are only 4 points where the shade cloth has small gaps where pieces overlap on the tank that the slugs could get in to the tank directly. If they entered through the gutter system they would have to make it past the first flush device which is not likely.
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Rat Lung Worm on East side... has maxed out in reality.... when they caught and tested rats in Hilo (over 600 rats), 90%+ of the rats had the worm.... yet, we now have less than a 1/2 dozen cases so far this yr, w/ over 200K people living here + tourists.....
meaning... either some are immune, some dont get too sick and never know... or its actually very hard to catch via a slug
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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I'm glad to hear that, but it will be cold comfort if someone in my family (or punaweb family) get sick. I already know two people personally that were diagnosed, hospital bound, and almost died.
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I get upset about irrational concern over catchment water because you're never gonna get a whole slug out of the tap and modest precautions can keep you pretty safe. Then I turn around and find a semi-slug crawling on my sink. THAT is what concerns me.
