Whirling disease lab opens in Alberta

The Alberta government is opening what is believed to be Canada’s first lab exclusively dedicated to testing for and preventing a potentially deadly fish disease.

Funding for the lab is coming from $9.3 million set aside, in this year’s provincial budget, to prevent the further spread of whirling disease, which was discovered in the Oldman and Bow River watersheds in the last year.

It’s not harmful to humans but can cause fish species, like trout and whitefish, to swim in a whirling pattern and die prematurely.

The lab in Vegreville will have six full-time technicians to process samples for expedited testing at the University of Alberta.

 

Whirling Disease infographic

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