Diseased Bass

[redlite]

Finally fished for a bit last night for the first time all weekend and was disturbed by one of the fish I caught. Buddy and I were fishing the South River and I got one that was about 16 inches and covered with those sores that there has been talk about.
Ruined my sleep last night. When I got my fifty last might in my dreams it was now covered with sores.

[Youngmoon74]

Can you get the fish handlers disease from them? and if so is it only if you get a cut from the fin or wateva?

[fishdog13]

i say it,s that darn hudson river water i say!!

[cheferson]

You can get fish handlers disease from them, but its hard to contract. Open wounds or sores on your hands increase the odds. Supposedly only people who handle very large amounts of fish get it.

[striprman]

Ever get any other species with simialar fish disease?

[new jack]

it's not common but there have been cases of fisherman coming down with cases of necrotizing fascitis (flesh eating disease) from fish infected with photobacterium damsela. it only happens in rear cases when the fisherman have some sort of immuno-deficient condition such as late stage diabetes II where the fisherman was not expected to live very long.

if a fisherman was to come in contact with a sickly looking fish and has a cut on their hand and the disease got into the cut, 99% of the time, their immune system will have no problem warding off the invader.

the best way to avoid disease is to simply was your hands after you have touched the fish in question and was your hands with some sort of antibacterial soap when you get home.