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Disturbing news of a an outbreak of the deadly and highly contagious KHV virus.
From the cemex website:
"Temporary closure of CEMEX Angling Burghfield Match Lake, Reading
CEMEX Angling has had to close its Burghfield Match Lake due to the detection of low rate Koi Herpesvirus Disease (KHV), which is a highly contagious virus with high mortality. The presence of KHV was confirmed by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) following sampling and analysis. CEFAS has confirmed that as no stocking has taken place at the site for the past three years, the likely source of the infection is an illegal introduction of pet fish from a member of the public.
CEMEX Angling is working closely with CEFAS and the Environment Agency to reduce any impact on the surrounding area and fisheries, which do remain open. While there are a series of lakes at Burghfield, all part of the flood plain, the Match Lake is the lowest of the series, which means that the problem should not be spread by water movement to any of the other lakes. Even so, the Match Lake is being closely monitored to ensure that the maximum bio-security is maintained. The lake has also been fenced off to stop unauthorised access.
The Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust (FACT), through the Fish Welfare Group (FWG) is working on a poster campaign to highlight the dangers of transfers of pond and aquarium fish to the wild through key angling outlets and information points. CEMEX fully supports this effort, and feels it is important to make people aware of the risks associated with transferring pet fish into the wild. Anglers need to realise just how easily disease can be transferred and wipe out important fisheries and it is important that they now take the necessary precautions to help minimise the risk of further contamination by air drying their nets thoroughly after each fishing session and before entering new water. "
