September 29, 2005

US Pennsylvania fish hatchery hit by contagious disease

The Allegheny National Fish Hatchery, Pennsylvania State, would remove over 700,000 trout and might destroy many, after lake and brook trout tested positive for the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, hatchery officials said. 

The hatchery had 720,000 juvenile lake, brook and rainbow trout, and 2,500 lake trout broodstock. Lakes Erie and Ontario as well as the Allegheny National Forest held the fish stocks.

Although the virus did not affect humans, it was highly contagious in fish and caused their internal organs to hemorrhage. It could also kill up to 90 percent of young fish and there was no cure or treatment, Bill Archambault, a US Fish and Wildlife Service official said.

While it was not yet confirmed how many fish would have to be killed, all 230,000 lake trout eggs would be destroyed, he added.

Meanwhile, hatchery officials said the fish would be removed and the facility disinfected. They also faced the challenge of finding areas where the fish could be relocated without the risk of spreading the disease.

Archambault said an inspection late last year revealed no infection, thus officials suspected the disease arrived this year and were trying to find its source. One suspected source was bird faeces as the virus could be transmitted through it, Archambault said.