Little Rock - An Arkansas Game and Fish Commission official says parasites and bacteria have been eliminated as causes of a fish kill last week in the Arkansas River.

Fisheries division chief Mark Oliver told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that it will take three more weeks to determine whether the 80,000 to 100,000 drum that died were killed by a virus. Samples were sent to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's fish-disease diagnostic laboratory for testing.

A tugboat operator first noted the dead fish Dec. 29 near the Roseville community boat ramp. The fish were seen for nearly 20 miles, from the Ozark-Jeta Taylor Lock and Dam near Ozark to near Hartman.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality determined that the deaths weren't related to river pollution.

Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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