Dog Owners Reminded to Protect Pets From Salmon Poisoning Disease
Dog owners in the Feather River drainage area are reminded to take precautions to protect their pets from Salmon Poisoning Disease. Salmon Poisoning Disease can be contracted by dogs that come into contact with fish from infested waters throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the southern Cascades and northern Sierras to the Feather River drainage.
The disease is caused by a bacteria-like organism, Neorickettsia helminthoeca, which is transmitted by the parasitic flatworm (or “fluke”) Nanophyetes salmincola. The fluke affects both trout and salmon in an area roughly north of a diagonal line from Sausalito to Chico, and on the western slope of the Sierra/Cascade mountain range. CDFW raises fish at three hatcheries where the fluke is present either intermittently or continuously: Darrah Springs, Crystal Lake and Mount Shasta. However, CDFW only stocks fish from these hatcheries into waters where the parasites have been present for decades.