Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, or VHS virus, is not a threat to people who handle infected fish or want to eat their catch, but it can kill more than 25 fish species. To prevents its spread, new emergency rules prohibit boaters and anglers from moving water and live fish, including minnows, from one waterbody to another. These include many of the same actions DNR has long asked people to take to avoid introducing invasive plants and animals to new waters.
New requirements for anglers and boaters to keep fish healthy

Emergency rules effective April 2007 require that boaters and anglers:

* Drain all water from your boat, trailer, bait buckets, coolers, and other containers before you leave the landing or shore fishing site location on Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, the Mississippi River or their tributaries).
* Do not transport live fish, including bait fish, away from any Great Lakes or Mississippi River drainage landing or shore fishing location. This includes tributaries up to the first dam.
* Do not use "cut" or dead bait from other waters (except when fishing in Lake Michigan, Green Bay, or tributaries).
* Do not use minnows unless they were purchased from a Wisconsin bait dealer or you legally caught the minnows from the place you are fishing.

Draining all water from boats and boating and fishing equipment is strongly recommended after boating or fishing on all Wisconsin waters, as is inspecting your boat and trailer and removing all visible plants and animals. These steps will also help prevent the spread of other diseases and invasive species.
Public Hearings set for May on Emergency Rules

People can learn more about deails of the emergency rules and exceptions and can provide feedback on them. Public hearings on the emergency rule begin at 5:00 p.m. on the following dates at the locations listed:

* May 10, Ashland - Council Chambers, Ashland City Hall, 601 Main St. West.
* May 17, Milwaukee - Rooms 140 and 141, DNR Southeast Region Hdqrs., 2300 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.

View the emergency rule and submit comments until May 28, 2007, in three ways:

* electronically
* via U.S. mail to Mr. Bill Horns, Bureau of Fisheries Management, P.O. Box 7921, Madison WI 53707.
* by e-mail to william.horns@wisconsin.gov

For information and a copy of the emergency rule call Bill Horns at (608) 266-8782.
VHS virus threatens a broad range of fish

A total of more than 25 species of game fish, bait fish and panfish are vulnerable to VHS â€" the first time a virus has affected so many different fish species from so many fish families in the Great Lakes.

VHS virus is considered an invasive species (not native to the Great Lakes), but scientists are not sure how the virus arrived. It may have come in with migrating fish from the Atlantic Coast, or may have hitch-hiked in ballast water from ships.
How VHS spreads

VHS virus is shed in the urine and reproductive fluids of fish into the water and the virus can survive in water for at least 14 days. Virus particles in the water infect the gills of the fish and within 2 days, the infected fish will start shedding the virus. Thus, water discharged from live wells, bilges and bait buckets can spread the virus from infected waters. Moving live, infected fish from one location to another will also spread the virus. Fish can also become infected by eating an infected fish. Other ways that the virus may be spread include natural fish movements, recreational boating/angling, birds, ballast water discharge, and research activities.
Signs a fish has VHS

The clinical signs of VHS may include hemorrhaging (bleeding), unusual behavior, anemia, bulging eyes, bloated abdomens, and the rapid onset of death; however, these symptoms could apply to many different fish diseases. VHS must be confirmed by lab tests. Additionally, some infected fish may not show any signs and transporting these fish to new locations could spread the disease to new waters.

Additional Information about VHS virus

The VHS virus is a serious pathogen of fresh and saltwater fish that is an emerging disease in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada.

VHS virus is a rhabdovirus (rod shaped virus) that affects fish of all sizes and ages. It does not pose any threat to human health. VHS causes hemorrhaging of skin, muscle, and internal organs, and death follows. Some fish infected with VHS will develop antibodies to the virus and will survive. However, after a period of time the fish may start shedding virus again and spread the disease to other fish.