Trout Kill in OR

[Guest guest]

Rense.com

 

 

 

Disease Dooms Oregon

Rainbow Trout

Virus Forces Officials To Kill 50,000 Trout

From Dr. Patricia Doyle, PhD

dr_p_doyle

6-27-4

 

 

 

From ProMED-mail Source The Statesman Journal

 

For a 3rd straight year, an outbreak of an incurable disease has forced

officials for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to destroy

rainbow trout being raised at Leaburg Hatchery.

 

Hatchery workers on Wednesday were ordered to kill about 50 000 trout

being held at the state hatchery on the McKenzie River off Highway 126

east of Eugene.

 

As with similar outbreaks in 2002 and 2003, the culprit is exposure, or

infection, of the rainbow trout with infectious hematopoietic necrosis,

commonly known as IHN. In September 2002, almost a quarter-million trout

were destroyed at Leaburg. In October 2003, 33 000 rainbows were

euthanized.

 

IHN is a naturally occurring virus that is endemic throughout Oregon,

Washington and Northern California. It initially attacks the blood-forming

tissues of the kidney. Younger fish suffer the effects of the disease.

External symptoms of the virus include lethargy, darkening of the skin and

bleeding at the base of the fins. According to biologists, adult fish

carry -- and shed -- the virus into the water, but don't die from the

disease.

 

In 2002, biologists said that IHN got into the hatchery from adult

steelhead shedding the virus into the water upriver from the hatchery

water in-takes on the McKenzie as a result of a large run of steelhead and

low seasonal flows on the river.

 

Officials at the hatchery said that trout that test non-infected at the

hatchery will be released ahead of schedule -- and at

smaller-than-planned-size -- to prevent them from also contracting the

infection.

 

Officials said that the killing of the fish is in line with Fish and

Wildlife's Fish Health Management Policy. The policy lists procedures and

approaches to reduce disease agents and fish losses in the state.

 

The trout being euthanized have been raised in a pond where fish were

diagnosed in mid-June 2004 with the virus.

 

Past experience -- such as the 2002 outbreak at Leaburg -- shows that

hatchery fish losses can escalate dramatically from this disease, which

has no known treatment. Officials said that hatchery staff, fish

pathologists and other Fish and Wildlife staff members are working toward

a solutions to prevent future outbreaks at the hatchery. Those include

cleaning the ponds where the fish are raised, and trying to prevent the

virus from getting back into the hatchery via the water source.

 

The trout had been scheduled for planting throughout the Willamette Valley

during the fall. Officials said they will evaluate the impact of the fish

losses on trout stocking plans.

 

The rainbow trout are being killed with the chemical MS-222 (tricaine

methane sulfonate). It is in the novocaine family of drugs and has been

approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association panel on

euthanasia as an acceptable and humane way of killing fish that will not

be eaten by people. The fish will be frozen and sent to a landfill to

contain the spread of the disease.

 

Fish pathologists will continue to sample and monitor the remaining fish

at the hatchery.

 

Officials said that if IHN infects more trout, additional steps will be

taken to contain the disease.

 

The hatchery's operations are paid for by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

 

http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=82555

 

ProMED-mail promed

 

This is sad news, as last year it was hoped that the disease had been

eliminated from the hatchery. - Mod.TG

 

 

Patricia A. Doyle, PhD Please visit my " Emerging Diseases " message board

at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.

php?Cat= & Board=emergingdiseases Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa Go with God

and in Good Health

 

 

 

Disclaimer

 

Email This Article

 

 

 

 

MainPage

http://www.rense.com

 

 

This Site Served by TheHostPros

 

Know the essence of mind.

Its intrinsic essence is pure clarity.

--- Tao-hsin (580-651)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

That is a real bummer.

 

 

~ pt ~

 

The ignorant man marvels at the exceptional; the wise

man marvels at the common; the greatest wonder of all

is the regularity of nature.

~ George Dana Boardman

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~>

, The Stewarts <stews9@c...>

wrote:

 

> Disease Dooms Oregon

> Rainbow Trout

> Virus Forces Officials To Kill 50,000 Trout

> From Dr. Patricia Doyle, PhD

> dr_p_doyle@h...

> 6-27-4

 

> IHN is a naturally occurring virus that is endemic throughout

Oregon,

> Washington and Northern California. It initially attacks the

blood-forming

> tissues of the kidney. Younger fish suffer the effects of the

disease.

> External symptoms of the virus include lethargy, darkening of the

skin and

> bleeding at the base of the fins. According to biologists, adult

fish

> carry -- and shed -- the virus into the water, but don't die from

the

> disease.

[Guest guest]

that sux. so do the fish not die from the dicease or do humans not

die?

 

 

, " ~ PT ~ "

<patchouli_troll> wrote:

> That is a real bummer.

>

>

> ~ pt ~

>

> The ignorant man marvels at the exceptional; the wise

> man marvels at the common; the greatest wonder of all

> is the regularity of nature.

> ~ George Dana Boardman

> ~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~>

> , The Stewarts

<stews9@c...>

> wrote:

>

> > Disease Dooms Oregon

> > Rainbow Trout

> > Virus Forces Officials To Kill 50,000 Trout

> > From Dr. Patricia Doyle, PhD

> > dr_p_doyle@h...

> > 6-27-4

>

> > IHN is a naturally occurring virus that is endemic throughout

> Oregon,

> > Washington and Northern California. It initially attacks the

> blood-forming

> > tissues of the kidney. Younger fish suffer the effects of the

> disease.

> > External symptoms of the virus include lethargy, darkening of the

> skin and

> > bleeding at the base of the fins. According to biologists, adult

> fish

> > carry -- and shed -- the virus into the water, but don't die from

> the

> > disease.