"..........Scientists say the infection, called mycobacteriosis, began
showing up in fish in {*filter*}ia and Maryland in 1997, having never been seen
before in the wild. The disease strikes individual fish and can be
transmitted to humans, usually through cuts on the hands......."

http://www.***.com/

Scientists studying bay's sick striped bass
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Scientists from {*filter*}ia and Maryland are studying a mysterious bacteria
infecting an estimated 70 percent of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay,
causing skin lesions and internal infections that can ruin their spleens and
kidneys.

The {*filter*}ia Institute of Marine Science and other scientists are examining
infected fish in four locations on the bay this month -- in the estuaries of
the Rappahannock and York rivers in {*filter*}ia and the Potomac and Choptank
rivers in Maryland.

"We really don't know what is going on out there," said Wolfgang Vogelbein, a
fish pathologist with VIMS.

Scientists say the infection, called mycobacteriosis, began showing up in
fish in {*filter*}ia and Maryland in 1997, having never been seen before in the
wild. The disease strikes individual fish and can be transmitted to humans,
usually through cuts on the hands.

Symptoms include skin lumps and lesions, though health officials say the
danger of eating infected fish is minimal.

Mr. Vogelbein said many of the infected fish show no outward signs of stress
and appear completely healthy. He said about 10 to 15 percent have reddish
open sores and some appear to be emaciated, but scientists don't know much
about survival rates.

When the disease strikes striped bass on fish farms, it is generally lethal,
said Steve Jordan, director of the Sarbanes Oxford Cooperative Laboratory in
Oxford. But scientists say many fish in the wild have managed to survive.

"We suspect the disease is having an impact on the population in the
Chesapeake Bay, but we just don't know," Mr. Vogelbein said.

Sports fishing for striped bass, also known as rockfish, is a $152
million-a-year industry in {*filter*}ia, and is worth more than $100 million a
year in Maryland.

But Jack Travelstead, fisheries manager for the {*filter*}ia Marine Resources
Commission, said there has been no noticeable effect on fishing numbers,
mainly because the rockfish population is still rising after years of
restrictive-catch policies.

The current study, funded by the U.S. Geologic Survey's National Fish Health
Laboratory, coordinates research tactics among scientists from {*filter*}ia and
Maryland so it will be easier to draw conclusions from their studies. Mr.
Vogelbein said after years of using different collection and testing
techniques, scientists are finally "on the same page."

The study may extend into 2003, depending on availability of funding,
scientists say.

Published November 18, 2002, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright ? 2002 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

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