----Ken Phillips of the La Crosse Fish Health Center takes fsamples from walleye collected from the central basin of Lake Erie. - FWS photo

From May 31 toJune 1, 2006, staff from the La Crosse Fish Health Center worked with fisheries crews from the Ohio Division of Wildlife to conduct survailence for VHSV.  A total of 321 fish, representing 11 species, were examined from the central (Fairport Harbor, OH) and western (Sandusky, OH) basins. 

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV)is a fish disease of international concern that was first reported in the Great Lakes Basin (Lake Ontario and Lake St. Claire) in 2005. 

In late April, VHSV was identified to be the cause of significant freshwater drum mortality in western Lake Erie.  Following this initial event, a significant kill of yellow perch in the central basin of Lake Erie was reported to the Ohio Division of Wildlife in late May.  After preliminary results indicated that VHSV was also responsible for the yellow perch kill, the LFHC and Ohio Division of Wildlife coordinated efforts to sample other species from Ohio waters of Lake Erie in an effort to determine other species that may be carrying the virus.

In additon to screening for VHSV, samples were also collected to screen for other viral pathogens (infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, largemouth bass virus) and bacterial pathogens (Aeromonas salmonicida, Edwardsiella ictaluri, Renibacterium salmoninarum, Yersinia ruckeri) as part of the National Wild Fish Health Survey.