The Oregon Health Authority, OHA, issued a warning for the Willamette river due to reports of yellow green scum along the river banks between the southern end of Ross island to the Fremont bridge in Multnomah county. The scum may be a toxic form of blue green algae. Tests are currently being done to confirm whether or not it is the toxic variety. Oregon sees several blooms of this algae during late spring, summer and early autumn. This algae is very dangerous to dogs. Shortly after swimming in affected water a dog can ingest large amounts of it that have stuck to its fur. Dogs that become intoxicated can exhibit vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, disorientation, seizures, coma and death. Dogs that do jump into a body of water covered in algae should be aggressively bathed with clean water before they have a chance to ingest it then taken to a veterinarian. Blue green algae most typically has a foamy scummy pea green appearance but can also be bluish green, or reddish brown. The only way to know whether or not it is the toxic variety is to perform tests like the ones being run by the OHA on the scum found along the banks of the Willamette. The general rule of thumb is when in doubt, stay the hell out!. Here is a link to the OHA website for more information. https://public.health.oregon.gov/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/RECREATION/HARMFULALGAEBLOOMS/Pages/Blue-GreenAlgaeAdvisories.aspx
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 16:06:08 +0000
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