Deadly Virus Kills Great Lakes’ Fish

Deadly Virus Kills Great Lakes’ Fish

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Thousands of fish near Milwaukee have already died from a virus called viral hemorrhagic septicemia. And officials expect the virus to spread to other areas of Lake Michigan.

Joel Brammeier is with the Alliance for the Great Lakes. He says the disease could’ve come in by freighters that do business on the waters.

BRAMMEIER: The only way to really prevent these outbreaks from happening is to stop these disease from getting in in the first place. Once they’re here we unfortunately have to let nature run its course. And unfortunately that means damage to our fish population in the Great Lakes.

Brammeier says the virus can mutate to effect any type of fish. He says people should prevent it from spreading by keeping boats clean and not transporting fish into other waterways. Lake Superior is the only one of the Great Lakes that has avoided the disease so far.