Originally Posted by
Drew Wiley
A young couple into routine hiking wouldn't typically be that dumb. They were carrying their own water. Hopefully that is being tested too.
Finally, a reporter who asks basic, important questions for readers and finds a good source who can address them.
From today’s sfgate.com:
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/artic...P-CP-Spotlight
An excellent (if brief) article, whose main source is:
“Taylor Weiss, an assistant professor in environmental and resource management at the Polytechnic School at Arizona State University and a member of the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation. He did his PhD on algae and has been studying it since he was 6 years old, he says, when his father — an environmental engineer — would filter algae samples at the kitchen table.”
Quick highlights addressing questions from earlier in this thread:
“There are no reported human deaths from toxic algae [ever]. This is largely due to the fact that adults do not often swallow large amounts of polluted water.”
“After learning that anatoxin cannot be filtered out of water, SFGATE asked Mitchell whether a filter was discovered in the family’s belongings. The answer was no.”
“According to Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kristie Mitchell, results from several toxicology reports — including a test of the water found in the family’s CamelBak — are still pending, and a timeframe for those becoming public is still not known.”
These were experienced hikers on a short day hike from the car. Since they had no filter, my presumption is that they’d bring their own water, in the CamelBak they did have – not drink directly from a trailside water source.
One more interesting insight about anatoxin: Even if it did enter their bodies through drinking, or some other means (i.e., splashes or aerosol), it might escape detection from the pending toxicology reports:
“Anatoxin also breaks down fairly quickly and easily; it doesn’t stay in tissues very long, according to Weiss. For that reason, he says, he’ll be surprised if anatoxins show up in the toxicology reports for Gerrish and Chung.”
What a tragic story and no answers even weeks later.
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