Viruses Being Detected in Wisconsin's Sport Fish

Sunday, April 7th, 2024 -- 8:00 AM

(Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) Anglers aren’t the only ones catching something out in Wisconsin waters.

According to Danielle Kaeding with Wisconsin Public Radio, University of Wisconsin researchers have detected almost 20 viruses in wild sport fish, including a distant relative of coronavirus that’s usually associated with birds.

Researchers at UW-Madison say the discovery is part of a first-of-its-kind study in North America to survey healthy wild fish for viruses. They analyzed 103 blood samples from five fish species that included brown trout, lake sturgeon, northern pike, bluegill and walleye.

The results were recently published in the journal Pathogens. The findings revealed 19 viruses that included 17 unknown to science before researchers discovered them, according to Tony Goldberg, an epidemiology professor at the university’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

He said the findings underscore that “fish get sick, too.” “Walleye in our study have a coronavirus that is a distant relative of the coronaviruses we all now know…from the pandemic,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg said it’s the first coronavirus associated with fish. He noted a poultry disease called infectious bronchitis is caused by a relative of the coronavirus found in walleye.

The virus was found in 11 out of 15 walleyes sampled by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The study’s findings also revealed viruses that are distant relatives of rubella and Hepatitis B. Even so, he stressed there’s no threat to human health or anglers.

“These are fish viruses, and there are no known viruses of fish that can affect people because we’re just too far from fish evolutionarily,” Goldberg said. “People don’t have to worry about eating fish because they might be infected with one of these viruses.”

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