My sister got giardia from the ice in her margarita in Nogales, Mexico, so don't only "not drink the water" there, I guess. It apparently lived in the ice (her doctor stated)...
Interesting. I've always been advised not to get ice in my drinks in Mexico, but I didn't think that it would be giardia that would be the issue. I've read that giardia is killed by freezing temps. Can giardia really be contracted from ice?
I did some searching. The answer? "Yes." Giardia can and does survive freezing. Ice (or ice cream for that matter) made with contaminated water is
not safe.
However, giardia does not survive well in freeze-thaw cycles for more than two weeks.
..the cyst stage of Giardia ... which can survive several freeze thaw cycles lasting up to 14 days.
See also
this article. Therefore, what I've read is true, that in areas that experience freezing winters, giardia contamination must be re-introduced every spring. It's no wonder then that places like the Sierra Nevada in California have very little giardia. See
this article. Perhaps the most important protocol in the Sierra is not water treatment but hand sanitization.
Again, I'm not trying to dissuade people from treating their water; water treatment is always a good precaution. However, in a survival situation, particularly one in a wilderness area with cold winters, drink. Oh, and wash those hands.
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