Department of Natural Resources fisheries officials have announced that a new downloadable, printable poster designed to raise awareness of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) is available at www.michigan.gov/vhs.

The poster bears the message: "Keep Our Waters Great! Don't Dump Your Bait." It can be printed as an 8x10 or 11x17. Easily laminated, the posters can be displayed anywhere anglers gather, such as bait shops, launch ramps, or sportsmen's clubs.

VHS kills fish by causing internal hemorrhaging. The disease impacts a wide variety of species - of both game and bait fishes -- and has been found in the Great Lakes and connecting waters on the east side of the state and in the Lake Michigan waters of other states. Inland, VHS has been detected in Budd Lake near Harrison.

"There is no known treatment for VHS," explained DNR fisheries biologist Gary Whelan. "Our only option is to try to prevent it from spreading in our lakes and streams. Simple measures designed to prevent the movement of organisms or water from one lake to another and disinfecting equipment will a go a long way toward slowing the spread of VHS."