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                                                published
                                              
                                              Jan 20, 2017
                                            
                                            
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                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Mar 08, 2022 06:59 PM
                                            
                                        
                                        
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                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            Streams,
                                          
                                          
                                            Threats,
                                          
                                          
                                            Video,
                                          
                                          
                                            Rivers
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      On July 27, 2015, whirling disease was confirmed in rainbow trout collected from Watauga River in Watauga County– the first occurrence of the disease in North Carolina. Whirling disease affects fish in the trout and salmon family with rainbow and brook trout, two species found in North Carolina waters, being the most susceptible. The disease, caused by the microscopic parasite Myxobolus cerebralis, damages cartilage and skeletal tissue in trout, causing them to swim in a whirling motion.
                                      
                                          
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