The Madison River, Montana's first victim of whirling disease, is well on its way to becoming the showcase on how to beat the deadly disease, biologists report. Last year, yearling rainbow trout numbers in the Pine Butte section of the Upper Madison River took the biggest jump since whirling disease was discovered in the late 1980s. The biologists think the high flows diluted the the infectious agents, called TAMS, and cooled the water, which also helped minimize exposure of young trout at a critical time. The TAMS attack trout only during the short period in their life before cartilage hardens into bone.
Biologists say that provides an opening to combat the disease.
These yearling numbers give us a lot of hope. Vincent said the agency has unlocked some basic mysteries of the disease since it appeared. For one, researchers discovered that not all rivers and creeks are infected the same. Some have mild infections that young trout can survive. It's moderate at best.