Whirling disease in fish has been found for the first time outside of Banff National Park in Alberta.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it was detected on Oct. 6 in Lott Creek in Rocky View County north of Calgary.
The agency says it was also detected on Oct. 4 at a commercial fishery licensed by the Alberta government, but it did not say where the facility was located.
Watch below: FishPathogens.net’s video of a rainbow trout infected with myxobolus cerebralis, displaying typical signs of whirling disease.
The disease was first detected in Johnson Lake in Banff National Park in late August and since then seven more cases have been found in the park.
READ MORE: Whirling disease found in Banff lake fish spreads to Bow River
Whirling disease poses no risk to humans and may cause infected fish to swim in a whirling pattern and then die prematurely.
It can be transmitted to other water bodies through fish and equipment used for swimming, paddling, boating and fishing.
CFIA says that more detections of the disease doesn’t mean it’s spreading.
“Whirling disease may have been present for several years and the ongoing sampling will help determine the extent of the distribution and the most appropriate response,” the agency says on its website.
Watch below from Aug. 28: A lake in Banff National Park has been closed to the public after a parasite that can be deadly to fish was detected. This is the first time whirling disease has been found in Canada. Mia Sosiak reports.
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