Arvo Tuvikese, associate professor of hydrobiology at the Tartu-based University of Life Sciences (Maaülikool), said the reason for the death of the fish in Pärnu County rivers over the weekend was the spring viremia virus, which is common among carp.

There is no cure for the virus but as the water warms, it stops spreading. It is not dangerous to humans.

The Agriculture and Food Board is now taking samples from the fish for laboratory testing to confirm Tuvikese's findings.

"When I dissected the fish brought to me by the Environment Agency yesterday, the symptoms showed one virus and that is spring viremia in carp," said Tuvikene.

The hydrobiologist added that the cool weather experienced this spring has also contributed to the spread of the virus.

"We will have to wait for the weather to get warmer. There is really no cure for this virus at the moment but when it's above 17 degrees Celsius, fish mortality drops. We have very few cases of it here and we haven't had a lot of exposure to it, but around the Caspian Sea, then it's more common," Tuvikene added

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