The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality is warning that harmful Cyanobacteria Blooms, also known as blue-green algae, is again making its appearance in Wyoming waters. Jackson Hole Radio Veterinary Correspondent Dr. Stephanie Ninnemann explains that when their growth explodes and forms a bloom, they can release toxic chemicals into the water around them.
Ninnemann said, “Cyanobacteria intoxications are most commonly associated with the ingestion of water where there is excessive growth of bacteria that produce either neurotoxins or hepatotoxins, so that is to say they affect the nervous system of they affect the liver very heavily.”
Dr Ninnemann says once a pet is infected with the toxin, there is very little that can be done, “What’s really scary about this is that there is really isn’t much of a treatment. There’s no actual antidote. You can’t rush your dog into the vet and we can immediately say, OK we have to get this on board right now. What we have to do is we have to find basically the symptoms, and we treat symptomatically.”
Ninnemann say frequently, the ingestion of cyanobacteria will lead to death. Health officials say it is also harmful to humans. The best defense is to be alert for the algae in waters where you are recreating and avoid contact.
