The state Department of Environmental Conservation will tell stakeholders more about the disease, called viral hemorrhagic septicemia, at 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at Chenango Valley High School in Chenango Bridge. They also will seek comments and suggestions regarding the outbreak.
VHS does not infect humans, although it can kill fish populations, including trophy fish that make the Susquehanna and Delaware river systems a regional attraction.
A strain of VHS has been confirmed in a number of species, including trout, walleye, muskellunge, salmon, burbot, drum and round goby in Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, the Niagara River, Lake Erie and Conesus Lake, according to a DEC report.
The state passed emergency regulations in November to limit the spread of the disease, including the certified inspection of bait fish before they are transported and sold, said Maureen Wren, a DEC spokeswoman.
Source: Pressconnects