Fish kill in Iowa Great Lakes has Iowa DNR baffled - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

A fish kill at the Iowa Great Lakes is still a mystery for environmental officials.

It's primarily happening on the lower chain of lakes, affecting mostly white and yellow bass.

Mike Hawkins, an Iowa DNR Fisheries Biologist, said preliminary results from samples sent to a lab don't indicate the presence of a virus or bacteria.

He stresses there's no danger to humans.

"We've talked with those health specialists and believe that there's nothing wrong with these fish from a consumption stand point. There's very little chance if any chance that a virus or bacterial infection can actually transfer from a fish to a human, then you add on to that cooking the fish and there's zero chance there," said Hawkins.

While the fish kill continues, Hawkins says the fatality rate has tapered off from what it was.

He doesn't have an exact count on the number of dead fish, but says it's significant.