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February 25, 1999

From Greenwire:

PFIESTERIA: Microorganism Present In 5 MD Rivers

The toxic microorganism Pfiesteria piscicida is common in Maryland rivers and "is probably all over" the Chesapeake Bay, new research shows.

Pfiesteria expert JoAnn Burkholder said yesterday she found the organism in five of 12 Maryland waterways studied, including two where it had not been previously found. One of the rivers is the St. Martin, which flows into the state's coastal bays west of Ocean City, an area where no Pfiesteria-related fish deaths or human illnesses have been reported.

Pfiesteria attacks fish only when a combination of conditions exists, such as when warm, shallow, still waters become rich in nutrients from sewage or farm runoff. State experts believe unusual weather patterns and a high level of nutrients contributed to significant outbreaks in Maryland in 1997 (Greenwire, 10/3/97). Burkholder, a North Carolina State U. researcher who helped discover the microbe in the late 1980s, said her findings indicate the Chesapeake "is not ideal for toxic Pfiesteria, but you have the potential to go a lot more toxic unless you take appropriate precautions" (Heather Dewar, Baltimore Sun, 2/25).