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The Renfrew County health unit has lifted its swimming ban on the Ottawa River after finding that a disease that killed hundreds of fish is harmless to humans.
The alarms started being raised two weeks ago, after people found hundreds of dead catfish, some bass and even turtles washing up on the banks upstream of Ottawa, along a 60-kilometre stretch west from Pembroke to Constance Bay.
The Renfrew County health unit advised people not to swim in the river as a precaution.
The fish were tested by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in Pembroke, which concluded that they died of a naturally found bacteria named columnaris.
The bacteria, which is found in warm water or water with lower oxygen levels, is deadly for fish but harmless for humans.
Doug Skeggs, a spokesman for the Ministry of Natural Resources in Pembroke, told CBC Radio that more fish could die during the summer if exposed to more warm water, low oxygen levels and the bacteria.
CBC News