U of M News Wire
May 15, 2008
A threat to Minnesota fish
By Nick Hanson
U of M News Wire
It is the Ebola virus for fish.
Perhaps that's the best way to describe VHS, or viral hemorrhagic septicemia. The lethal fish virus causes severe hemorrhaging and is capable of producing massive fish kills in some of Minnesota anglers' favorite game and eating fish, including walleye, muskie, perch, sunfish, crappie and smallmouth and largemouth bass.
The virus, which isn't native to the Great Lakes, was first diagnosed in Lakes St. Clair and Ontario in 2005. Since then, fish kills have occurred in other Great Lakes, including Huron and Michigan, and inland lakes in New York, Michigan and Wisconsin.
It has yet to hit Lake Superior and inland Minnesota lakes but, unfortunately, fish experts predict it is just a matter of time before the virus spreads through the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
While it does not pose a threat to people who handle or eat an infected catch, it is not a virus you want stewing in your favorite fishing hole. And it's something fishermen will want to be well aware of as the fishing season kicks off, says Nicholas Phelps, aquaculture specialist at the University of Minnesota's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL).
"Not only does the virus have potential to hurt the sport fishing and tourism industries of Minnesota, it also will likely have a detrimental impact on the commercial fishing industry," Phelps said. "This includes all fish – both for stocking and bait – that will be required to undergo strict and expensive testing before release into state waters."
Having a knowledge of the virus is paramount to sport fishermen throughout Minnesota and in the Great Lakes region.
Phelps offers a few tips to help curb the spread of the disease:
- As a first line of defense to prevent the spread of VHS, anglers should not move potentially infected water or fish, bait or game, from one lake to another in their livewells or bait buckets.
- When leaving a lake, drain all water before leaving the access and dispose of all bait or fish parts in the trash.
- Spray hot water on boats, trailers and recreational equipment and then dry them before leaving a lake.
Fortunately, the University of Minnesota has also taken a number of preventative steps to halt the spread of VHS. The first was creating Phelps's position as the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory's aquaculture specialist. To better serve Minnesota, VDL director Jim Collins saw a need for the position because of VHS and other viruses nearing state waters.
"As the aquaculture industry grows, and more and more people eat fish, it's important that we closely monitor fish for VHS and other viruses, just like any other animal," Collins says.
At the lab headquarters in St. Paul, Phelps is testing fish for VHS and other diseases. He is also working with fish farms and state agencies throughout the region, since few labs have these capabilities. Each week the lab continues to test more fish.
The Veterinary Diagnostic Lab has also been working in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources on a federally funded VHS surveillance program, testing 90 bodies of water through this spring.
The University of Minnesota will continue to work with the DNR and veterinarians to offer the necessary diagnostic and export testing services for the state's aquaculture industry, hobbyists and natural fisheries.
"The combination of experience, testing methods and capacity make it a win-win situation for both labs and the state of Minnesota," Phelps said.
The Veterinary Diagnostic Lab recently became one of only eight labs in the country approved to conduct export testing for VHS by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"While it's not time to panic, it's certainly time to be aware," Phelps said. "Many are considering VHS to be the worst freshwater fish disease of all time."
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New research co-authored by U of M finds state high school exit exams harm those who fail; provide no benefit for those who pass
By Mark Cassutt
U of M News Wire
As approximately three million U.S. high school seniors prepare to graduate, tens of thousands of their classmates have put their own graduation on hold because they have yet to pass state-mandated high school exit exams.
New research by sociology professors John Robert Warren at the University of Minnesota and Eric Grodsky at the University of California, Davis challenges the value of state exit examinations, both to the students who are denied diplomas and to the general public which foots the bill to develop, administer and score the tests.
The researchers have found that state exit exams reduce high school completion rates but neither boost academic achievement nor improve graduates' post-high school labor market prospects.
State high school exit exam policies have been implemented in recent decades to ensure that graduates have the skills required to succeed in college and in the 21st century global economy. The exams – popular among politicians, policy makers and business leaders nationwide – are in place in 23 states and affect about two out of every three students in the class of 2008.
In a study to be published in an upcoming issue of Educational Policy, the researchers found that state exit exams – including more rigorous exams implemented in some states in recent years – have no measurable impact on 13- to 17-year old students' reading or math achievement levels. In a companion study published in Sociology of Education, Warren and Grodsky found that young people who earned their diplomas in states that required exit exams experienced the same chances of employment and the same wage rates as those who were not required to pass exit exams.
As a result, the researchers argue that state exit examinations deny diplomas to students who do not pass them without doing any good for those who do, and should either be greatly modified to achieve their goals or abandoned entirely.
"For many people denying diplomas to some students in order to more broadly boost academic achievement is an acceptable trade-off," said Warren. "But there's no evidence that exit exams boost the academic achievement or workplace preparedness of U.S. high school students."
The researchers believe the reason that states' exit exams fail to boost student achievement or workplace preparedness has to do with the low standards most states set for passing the tests. Unwilling to deny diplomas to large, politically unpleasant numbers of students, most states align their exit exams to standards that do not produce measurable gains in academic achievement or workplace preparedness.
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Editor’s Note: Growing Concerns Classics are reprints of readers’ favorite columns.
Growing Concerns: Classic
A parenting question-and-answer column with Dr. Martha Erickson of the University of Minnesota
Question: Several times lately our four-year-old has gotten all worked up at night, claiming that there's a monster under his bed. He says that he's afraid to be alone in his room. Is this cause for concern? And, how can we help him get over these fears?
Answer: What you describe is not at all unusual. For many reasons, young children get frightened when they're alone, especially at night and in the dark. They often imagine all sorts of scary creatures in the closet or under the bed. Very young children can't separate reality from fantasy, and when they can't see what's around them, their vivid imaginations go to work. Also, the frightening images that surround our children on television and film may feed into these fears.
These images are not all fantasy: Actual news stories of children being abused or kidnapped can erode the security of children of all ages. It also is common for ordinary stress and anxiety to bubble up at night--when children can't exactly name what's making them uneasy, it may come out as fear of imagined creatures.
Such fears become cause for serious concern only when they go on long enough--or are intense enough--that they interfere significantly with a child’s sleep or the ability to play and learn during the daytime hours. In that case it would be wise to check to be sure he has not experienced something traumatic--and seek professional counseling if needed.
For now, here are a few tips on how to help your son master these fears so that he--and you--can rest easily:
• Take your son's fears seriously, without overreacting. It is important not to dismiss or ridicule his fears. Hear his feelings and reflect them back to him with words: "I can see you're really scared."
• Reassure him that you are there to make sure he is safe. Offer comfort as needed, and demonstrate to him that there's nothing frightening in his room. This may mean turning on the light in his closet or looking under the bed to show him that everything is fine.
• Over time, help him actively master his fears by reading or making up stories about little boys and their monsters. (Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” was a favorite at our house.) Or you could join him in imaginative play and act out monster stories. For example, he could pretend to be the monster and you could be the child who tells the monster to either start being nice or go someplace else. Or your son could be the parent reassuring his stuffed animal or doll that he will keep them safe.
• Finally, see through your child's eyes by remembering your own childhood. What used to frighten you? And what did you find comforting at those times? As with so many aspects of parenting, our own childhood memories often yield the best information on how to care for our children.
Want to hear more parenting advice?
Dr. Erickson and her daughter can be heard every Sunday, from 2 - 4 pm, on “Good Enough Moms,” on FM107.1 radio in the Twin Cities or via Webcast at www.FM1071.com
